A SINGLE Kuwaiti pilot flying an American-made fighter jet was responsible for downing three US planes worth a combined $100 million.
Sources revealed a Kuwaiti F/A-18 pilot launched three missiles against the planes, which cost $31.1 million each, in a triple friendly-fire farce.
Defence top brass joked: “He only needs two more to become an ace.”
Pilots were forced to eject to safety after the blundering Kuwaiti mistook their F-15E Strike Eagles for threatening Iranian jets at around 7am local time on Monday.
Footage showed one of the three blasted jets spiralling to the ground in a fireball – crashing in the city of Al Jahra, around 6.2 miles from the US Ali Al Salem air base.
Another video showed a pipe-wielding local threatening one of the pilots as he cried out: “I’m American!”.
After surviving his jet being shot, the pilot was aggressively approached by a group of men who feared he was an Iranian enemy.
Getting down on one knee with his hands up in front of him, he frantically reassures them he’s with the US Air Force.
Meanwhile, a female US fighter pilot was filmed smiling at her rescuers with her discarded parachute in the background after her jet was shot down.
A man approaching her called out: “You’re fine? Really? Thank you for helping us.”
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US Central Command confirmed all six aviators – three pilots and three weapons systems officers – survived the incident, which could be the most expensive friendly fire incident in modern history.
It said: “During active combat – that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones – the US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses.
“All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition.
“Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation.”
The incident remains under investigation.
The F-15, a highly manoeuvrable and tactical fighter, is considered one of the US’s best fighter jets.
Kuwait hosts the largest US military presence in the region, with some 13,500 troops stationed in the Middle East.
It comes as…
It comes as Iran wreaks deadly havoc across the Middle East as it indiscriminately launches barrages of missiles after vowing “revenge” for Donald Trump’s unprecedented Epic Fury operation.
Reeling from the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran has continued to launch attacks – including a fresh wave this morning.
American bases and countries around the region have been targeted after furious Iran threatened that the US would bitterly regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and calling for Trump’s blood.
Seething Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US Navy of committing an atrocity at sea for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, which killed at least 87 Iranian sailors.
“Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set”, he said on social media.
Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, in one of the few clerical statements so far from Iran, later called on state television for the shedding of both Israeli and “Trump’s blood”.
In the latest wave of attacks from Iran – as the US and Israel’s blitz of the rogue nation continues – a drone crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijan exclave bordering north Iran that is separated from the rest of the country by Armenia.
Another drone fell near a school and two civilians were injured, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said.
Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan, but its attacks since the start of the war have spread erratically and involved regional countries and beyond.
Qatar evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution Thursday, and later reported a missile attack on the city. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan.
A tanker apparently came under attack off the coast of Kuwait early Thursday, expanding the area where commercial shipping was in danger, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center run by the British military.
It said there was an explosion but did not confirm the cause. Iran in the past has attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them.
Prior attacks since fighting began Saturday have happened in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, which connects it to the Persian Gulf and through which about a fifth of the worlds oil is shipped.
Last night, Kurdish troops backed by US and Israeli forces were reported to have launched a ground offensive in a bid to topple Iran’s mullahs.
A US official said thousands of fighters were in action in a drive to finally end the Islamist regime’s 47-year grip on power.
