Kuwait’s defense ministry says ‘several’ US military aircraft have crashed, all crews survived
“Several” US fighter jets crashed in Kuwait on Monday, according to CNN’s analysis of online videos and the gulf country’s Ministry of Defense, which said that all of the crew members survived.
The ministry in a statement did not specify exactly how many jets crashed nor did it say what caused them.
The statement comes after videos geolocated by CNN showed a fighter jet crashing in Kuwait and a pilot parachuting to the ground. The video appeared to show an F-15E fighter jet, according to a CNN analysis.
It’s unclear what caused the crashes of the aircraft, which each cost tens of millions of dollars. CNN has reached out to US Central Command and the White House for comment.
“Relevant authorities immediately initiated search-and-rescue operations,” Kuwait’s defense ministry spokesperson Col. Said Al-Atwan said in the statement.
“The crews were evacuating from the crash sites and transferred to hospital to assess their condition and provided necessary medical care,” he said.
The crew members are in a “stable” condition, the ministry added.
Al-Atwan said Kuwait was in “direct coordination” with US authorities.
One video geolocated by CNN shows a fighter jet crashing over Kuwait near a US air base. The video shows a jet on fire and falling in a tailspin out of the sky, and it suggests the jet came down within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of the US Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait.
Other videos geolocated by CNN appear to show a fighter jet pilot on the ground in Kuwait after ejecting from an aircraft.
In one of the videos, a man in a full flight suit and helmet can be seen kneeling on the ground next to an orange and white parachute and a parachute cord in a desert area near a fence line.
CNN has geolocated the video about 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) from the Ali Al Salem base.
In another video, the pilot is seen standing up as bystanders look on, with thick black smoke billowing in the distant background.
The crashes come during heavy bombardment on Gulf nations as part of an expanding war with Iran. It also comes as smoke has been seen over the area surrounding the US Embassy in Kuwait.
It is notable when US fighter jets crash overseas and often triggers an investigation.
In 2024, a US ship “mistakenly fired” upon a F/A-18 operating from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea. The incident was investigated, and the two Navy pilots ejected safely.
The US military has a significant number of military assets in the region, deployed in the weeks leading up to the joint US-Israeli military operation that kicked off early Saturday morning Eastern Time. A list put out by CENTCOM on Sunday showing the assets employed thus far included F-18s, F-16s, F-22s, F-35s, A-10 attack aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones, refueling aircraft, counter-drone systems, Navy aircraft carriers and guided-missile destroyers.
More than 1,000 targets have been struck, the CENTCOM release on Sunday said, adding that the military is focusing on military targets like command and control centers, Iranian Navy ships and submarines, Islamic Revolutionary Guard corps headquarters and more.
This story has been updated with additional details.
