Six airmen have been killed after an incident in the skies over Western Iraq which led to the loss of an in-flight refuelling tanker, the U.S. military has confirmed.
The death toll of an in-flight “incident” while on a combat mission has increased from four airmen to six, the complete compliment of the lost Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker that went down yesterday evening over Iraq. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a rescue mission which ran overnight but has now confirmed there were no survivors from the lost refuelling aircraft.
CENTCOM said they are withholding the identities of the deceased crewmen until their families have been informed. An investigation has been launched into the exact circumstances of the incident, but CENTCOM has emphasised the loss was not related to enemy action or friendly fire.
A second aircraft was involved in the incident. While nothing has officially been stated about this second plane other than it was able to land, as earlier reported it appears the incident was a collision between two Stratotankers, with the surviving plane losing the top third of its vertical tail.
U.S. Secretary of State for War Pete Hegseth offered prayers for the lost airmen and their families on Friday. He said at a press conference:
…war is hell, war is chaos, and as we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen. American heroes, all of them… their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission.
But war in this context and in pursuit of peace is necessary, which is why each day on bended knee we continue to appeal to heaven, to almighty God’s providence to watch over and give special skill and confidence to our leaders and to our warriors.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine spoke besides Hegseth in remarks after the deaths of four of six crewmen had been announced, but before the number was revised to six. He also called for the public to keep the airmen and their families in their thoughts and said:
…the tragic loss of our KC-135 refuelling aircraft yesterday. The incident occurred over friendly territory in Western Iraq while the crew was on a combat mission. And again, was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.
A social media account associated with NATO Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany published a statement on the crash which said:
On behalf of NATO Allied Air Command, we send our deepest condolences to the families of the US military members who lost their life in this tragic incident. The loss of colleagues in the air is felt by all of us in NATO Allied Air Command.
As earlier report of the incident and the aircraft involved said:
The aircraft were flying in support of Operation Epic Fury, the two-week-old U.S. mission to degrade Iran’s nuclear, missile, and maritime capability. The tanker is the fourth known U.S. aircraft destroyed during the course of the operation, after a major friendly-fire incident in the skies over Kuwait saw three F-15E Strike Eagles downed by a single Kuwaiti Air Force fighter. In that case, all six aircrew were able to eject safely.
Boeing-made KC-135 Stratotankers carry large amounts of aviation fuel and are equipped with a probe or drogue that allows it to pump fuel directly into the tanks of other aircraft. The operation required a high degree of skill and carries some risk, but it allows assets to remain airborne for considerably extended periods of time.
The KC-135 fleet is a venerable one, the airframe having first flown in the 1950s and some aircraft in service now being over 60 years old. It is one of the longest continually serving military aircraft in the world. Dozens of KC-135s have been lost in service over that very long timeframe, but public records show that beyond a handful of high-profile incidents losses from mid-air collisions have been rare, with crashes at take-off or landing claiming the lions share.
Air refuelling proved particularly important in the early stages of Operation Epic Fury as the United States launched airstrikes on Iranian positions from bases in the United States, necessitating return flights of over 30 hours to deliver payloads to target before returning home.
