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Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org<\/p>\n
Four of six Airmen who were aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker that crashed in Western Iraq<\/a> March 12 are confirmed to be dead, U.S. Central Command announced March 13.<\/p>\n The names of the deceased are being withheld for 24 hours as the U.S. military notifies the next of kin, as is standard practice.\t\t<\/p>\n The crash, which involved another refueling aircraft, resulted in the first Air Force fatalities in Operation Epic Fury. There have now been 11 U.S. fatalities during the war with Iran. Seven Soliders were previously killed in Iranian strikes in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n The second aircraft involved was also a KC-135, which landed safely. That aircraft suffered significant damage to its vertical stabilizer, unconfirmed photos circulating on social media show.<\/p>\n At least one tanker was operating from Israel, flight tracking data indicates.<\/p>\n CENTCOM said that the KC-135 went down in Western Iraq at about 2 p.m. Eastern time. There were six crew members aboard, CENTCOM said, and rescue efforts continue.<\/p>\n The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation, but CENTCOM said it was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.\t\t<\/p>\n Four Confirmed Deceased in Loss of U.S. KC-135 Over Iraq<\/p>\n TAMPA, Fla. \u2013 At approximately 2 pm ET on March 12, a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq. Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue.<\/p>\n The\u2026\u2014 U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The KC-135 that crashed on March 12 is the fourth crewed aircraft to be downed in operations against Iran, though none by the Iranians. On March 1, three Air Force\u00a0F-15E Strike Eagle<\/a>\u00a0fighters were shot down by\u00a0Kuwait F\/A-18 aircraft in a friendly fire incident<\/a>.<\/p>\n At least 10 remotely piloted Air Force\u00a0MQ-9 Reaper<\/a>s have been\u00a0lost while conducting operations against Iran<\/a>, Air & Space Forces Magazine was previously reported.<\/p>\n The KC-135 has been in service since the 1960s, and the average aircraft is more than 66 years old. The Air Force\u2019s tanker fleet has been in extremely high demand during Operation Epic Fury, refueling fighters, bombers, and support aircraft.<\/p>\n Previous casualties related to Operation Epic Fury include six Soldiers killed in an\u00a0Iranian strike<\/a>\u00a0in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, and another Soldier killed at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia. About\u00a0140 service members have been injured<\/a>, most of whom have returned to duty, the Pentagon said March 10. Another service member, a National Guard Soldier from New York, died at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, in a health-related incident. A French service member was killed and several others were wounded in an attack in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on March 12, according to President Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n This is the first loss of a KC-135\u2014or any Air Force tanker\u2014in 13 years. In May 2013, a Stratotanker crashed in the foothills of mountains in Kyrgyzstan immediately after taking off to support operations over Afghanistan. Three Airmen died in the incident.\n<\/p>\n Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org<\/p>\n \t\t