Two aircraft were involved in the incident, US Centcom said.
22:01, Thu, Mar 12, 2026 Updated: 23:08, Thu, Mar 12, 2026
(FILE PIC) A US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling aircraft (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The US military said a aircraft was lost in "friendly airspace" during Operation Epic Fury. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday night one of its refuelling planes, a KC-135, went down during a mission part of the operation being carried out against Iran.
The combatant command said in a statement: "U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely."
(FILE PIC) The incident occurred in Iran (Image: ABIR SULTAN/EPA/Shutterstock)
CENTCOM added the incident "was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire".
The statement also read: "More information will be made available as the situation develops. We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity for the families of service members."
Operation Epic Fury is the codename for the US military action launched against Iran on February 28. The US operation, carried out jointly with Israel, aims at obliterating Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and production capacity, eliminating the country's navy, severing its support for its proxies, and ensuring it will not acquire nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump has declared the operation a success multiple times over the past few days, saying on Monday the war was "very complete, pretty much".
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Hours later, however, he said the US military would "go further" with the operation.
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CENTCOM said that on March 1, three US F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of the military operations over Iran "went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident".
Its statement said: "During active combat – that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones – the US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences."
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