A KC-135 Stratotanker that was taking part in Operation Epic Fury has crashed in Iraq, U.S. Central Command announced.
“U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft,” the command stated Thursday afternoon in a media release. “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.”
“This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” the CENTCOM statement added. “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.”
Three American crewed aircraft are known to have been lost during Operation Epic Fury prior to today’s KC-135 loss. These were F-15Es that were shot down in a bizarre friendly fire incident.
This is a developing story. We will update this post with new information as soon as we get it.
UPDATE: 6:15 PM EDT –
The Times of Israel has reported that the second aircraft involved was another KC-135. That outlet also says that the KC-135 in question was one that landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport earlier in the day after declaring an in-flight emergency. Online flight tracking data shows that tanker is a KC-135RT variant, one of a small subset of KC-135Rs that are themselves capable of being refueled in flight. This, in turn, allows them to make use of tanker support themselves to remain on station longer or to conduct longer-distance missions. You can read more about these “receiver-tankers” in this past TWZ feature.
The loss of a KC-135 today appears to be the first time one of these tankers has crashed in support of combat operations since May 3, 2013, when one went down over Northern Kyrgyztan, killing all three crew aboard. That aircraft had been supporting operations over Afghanistan.
UPDATE: 7:09 PM EST –
Reuters also reports that the second aircraft was a KC-135 and added that the jet that crashed had six service members on board.
UPDATE: 9:14 PM EST –
An image emerged on social media purporting to show the KC-135 that landed in Israel was missing a large portion of the top of the vertical stabilizer. The War Zone cannot independently verify that this is one of the jets involved in the mishap.
UPDATE: 5:00 AM EST –
We now have a better look at the partially sheared-off tail of one of the KC-135s purported to have been involved in the collision over Iraq, following its return to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. This particular aircraft is serial 63-8017, a KC-135R version assigned to the 314th Air Refueling Squadron, an Air Force Reserve Command unit of the 940th Air Refueling Wing stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California.
UPDATE: 5:40 AM EST –
U.S. Central Command has confirmed that four of the six airmen onboard were killed in the loss of a KC-135 over Iraq, and reiterates that the incident was not due to hostile or friendly fire. The search for the other crew members continues. In a statement, CENTCOM provided the following details:
“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. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire. The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.”
The KC-135 is the fourth U.S. military aircraft lost since the strikes against Iran began on February 28. Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were mistakenly shot down in a friendly fire incident by Kuwait earlier this month, as you can read more about here. All crew members in those jets ejected safely.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
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