Overview
- Sources reported on June 2 that the unnamed F-15E pilot who was rescued after an April 3 missile strike over Iran had also ejected in a March friendly-fire shootdown by Kuwaiti defenses.
- The March incident saw Kuwaiti forces mistakenly shoot down three U.S. F-15E jets, forcing six crew members to eject and be recovered safely inside Kuwait.
- On April 3 an F-15E was struck by an Iranian surface-to-air missile over Iran; the pilot was rescued after several hours with serious injuries and the weapons systems officer evaded capture and was recovered nearly two days later.
- The linkage was first reported by Sean Naylor’s Substack The High Side and was corroborated by multiple outlets, while U.S. Central Command declined to comment and the crew remain unnamed publicly.
- Military experts say a fixed-wing aviator being downed twice in the same campaign is extremely rare and the episodes highlight command-and-control and identification failures that could prompt deeper investigation and changes to allied air-defense procedures.