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Kuwaiti aircraft are suspected to be responsible for the shootdown of three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle<\/a>s on March 2, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.<\/p>\n The friendly fire episode occurred<\/a> around 7 a.m. local time on the third day of the U.S. war against Iran. At least one Kuwaiti F\/A-18 is believed to be responsible\u2014Kuwait flies F\/A-18s and Eurofighter Typhoons.\t\t<\/p>\n All six aviators\u2014three pilots and three weapons systems officers\u2014are alive, were recovered safely, and are in stable condition, U.S. military officials said.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command declined comment on the suspected role of the Kuwaiti planes. \u201cIt would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation,\u201d said Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins.<\/p>\n CENTCOM said on March 2 that the American aircraft \u201cwere mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,\u201d but it did not say whether American fighters were shot down by surface-to-air or air-to-air systems. But people familiar with the episode said March 3 that surface-to-air fire is no longer the leading theory.<\/p>\n The exact circumstances of the downing of the American warplanes are not yet clear, but Iran has retaliated with missiles and drones against Kuwait and countries across the Gulf. Iran\u2019s strategy has been to put military pressure on Gulf states in the hope that they urge President Trump to stop the war.\u00a0<\/p>\n CENTCOM said the incident occurred during \u201cactive combat,\u201d which included \u201cattacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones.\u201d\t\t<\/p>\n A former Air Force fighter pilot told Air & Space Forces Magazine the incident is \u201cperplexing,\u201d given that allied pilots are trained to follow procedures to prevent such dangerous mistakes.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re flying air defense missions, the first thing you do is interrogate using your transponder,\u201d the former pilot said. American pilots broadcast an Identification Friend or Foe code that identifies them as friendly to allied forces.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re beyond visual range, you interrogate the other aircraft to see if they\u2019re squawking a friendly code,\u201d the pilot said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have a friendly identification, then you proceed to a visual identification.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that all six crew members ejected safely, the former pilot said, \u201ctells me they were shot from the rear quadrant, and probably by a heat-seeking missile without a really large warhead.\u201d <\/p>\n Footage of an F-15 falling out of the sky this morning over Kuwait, in an apparent \u201cfriendly fire\u201d incident involving the U.S. Air Force. pic.twitter.com\/GQvryfJ4C4<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n