Several US jets crash in Kuwait amid West Asia tensions; video shows F-15 falling out of sky

Several American warplanes, including at least one F-15, crashed in Kuwait on Monday morning, though their crews survived, Kuwait’s defence ministry told AFP.

"Several US warplanes crashed this morning. Confirming that all crew members survived," a defence ministry spokesman said in a statement, as Iran continued its third day of strikes in the Gulf. He added that the cause of the crashes is under investigation.

"Authorities immediately initiated search and rescue operations, evacuating the crews and transporting them to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. He noted that their condition is stable," the statement added.

According to early reports, the aircraft may have been engaged by a MIM-104 Patriot air defense battery while in Kuwaiti airspace. The Patriot system is designed to intercept incoming threats such as ballistic missiles and hostile aircraft. However, in rare cases, misidentification, radar confusion, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) malfunction, or communication breakdowns can result in a friendly aircraft being wrongly classified as hostile. Kuwait’s Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) said debris from the jet fell inside the Mina Al Ahmadi refinery, injuring two workers.

This marks the first US Air Force jet crash reported in the context of the Israel‑Iran conflict so far, after a US F‑15 fighter jet went down in Kuwait with the pilot ejecting safely.