Trump shrugs off Kuwait shooting down US planes with American patriot missiles as ‘a little mishap’

WorldPolitics
25 Mar 2026 • 10:30 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Donald Trump shrugged off the accidental downing of three US planes by ally Kuwait as a “little mishap”.

On 1 March, a trio of F-15s were shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses. All six aircrew ejected safely and were recovered.

Speaking on Tuesday (24 March), the president said that the Kuwaiti forces mistakenly fired at the jets with US-made patriot missiles.

“The Kuwaitis made a mistake, they fired...They thought they were firing at the enemy. It was, as the expression goes, friendly fire.”

He added that the pilots were all flying today again following the strike. “Pretty amazing when you think about it.”

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