The pilot of DUDE44, the F-15E Strike Eagle downed over Iran, was reportedly also one of the pilots who were shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire in the opening days of Operation Epic Fury.
In a very rare occurrence, it appears that the pilot of the U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran was also one of the pilots of the three F-15Es that were shot down in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait in the early days of Operation Epic Fury. The two incidents happened just a month apart.
The story was first reported by The High Side, citing current and former Air Force officials, on June 2, 2026. Later on the same day, CBS News also reported on this, citing two people familiar with the incidents. The Air Force and the U.S. Central Command did not provide comments on this to media.
The High Side also mentioned that the F-15E’s Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) sustained injuries because of a malfunction of the parachute, which failed to properly open after the ejection. Contrary to the pilot, rescued hours later, the WSO was rescued after a massive Combat Search and Rescue effort which lasted two days.
A pilot being shot down and safely ejecting two times during the same conflict is a rare occurrence. There are reported similar cases, however they go decades back.
“It is a highly unusual coincidence,” said Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, the Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, when interviewed by CBS News. Deptula said that the last time this happened could be potentially as far back as the Vietnam War.
Mar. 2 Friendly Fire
On Mar. 2, 2026, three F-15E Strike Eagles of the U.S. Air Force were shot down in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait. All six aircrew ejected safely and were recovered, with some helped by Kuwaiti nationals on the ground while waiting for the rescue forces to arrive.
According to details gathered from images, at least one of the crews was assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina. Images from the supposed crash site of one of the three aircraft showed the markings of a Strike Eagle assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, UK.
CENTCOM said at the time that the aircraft were involved in active combat and were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses. Days later, reports attributed the responsibility to a Kuwait Air Force F/A-18.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, which quoted an unnamed U.S. official, “one F/A-18 pilot launched three missiles against the U.S. aircraft.” A second official mentioned that this happened soon after multiple Iranian drones entered Kuwaiti airspace.
There are still many missing pieces to this story, which might not emerge for a long time. The first, and most important one, is why the F-15Es were not identified by the Kuwaiti pilot before firing.
Apr. 3 Shootdown Over Iran
In the early morning of Apr. 3, 2026, an F-15E Strike Eagle, with callsign DUDE44 and reportedly assigned to RAF Lakenheath, was struck by enemy fire over Iran. At the time, U.S. President Donald Trump said the Iranians “got lucky” with a shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile.
Later on, new reports emerged saying that a Chinese-made shoulder-fired Man-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) could be the culprit. The weapon was allegedly part of the Chinese shipments to Iran in the early days of the war.
Immediately after the shootdown, upon confirmation of the rescue beacons were active, a rescue mission was launched. Both the pilot and the weapon system officer (WSO) safely ejected, but they were isolated in hostile territory.
Within hours, after positively locating the pilot, a CSAR task force made of 21 aircraft, including A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, HC-130J Combat King IIs and HH-60W Jolly Green IIs, as well as Combat Rescue Officers and Pararescuemen operators, was launched. The mission saw them flying into Iranian airspace for hours in broad daylight.
Meanwhile, a fighter strike package protected the task force. Among them were remotely piloted aircraft and the A-10Cs, flying in the Sandy role, as the CSAR support mission is commonly called.
The helicopters were able to safely extract the pilot, although they were also hit by hostile fire. An A-10C was also damaged, with the pilot ejecting once over friendly territory as he “determined the airplane was not landable.”
The rescue of the WSO required a larger effort, which ultimately succeeded after 36 hours behind enemy lines. The WSO was injured following the ejection and actively evading capture before being able to make contact with U.S. forces.
The second rescue mission was then launched, with 155 aircraft involved. Among these were “four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, and 13 rescue aircraft,” said Trump.
Two MC-130 Commando II aircraft then landed on “wet and sandy” terrain. Three A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters were unloaded and within minutes were flying towards the objective to extract the WSO.
However, following the extraction, the MC-130s were stuck and could not take off again. C-295Ws from the AFSOC’s secretive 427th Special Operations Squadron were called in, and the MC-130s and Little Birds were thus destroyed on site to avoid sensitive equipment falling into enemy hands.
