The KC-135 was reportedly lost after an incident involving another aircraft in friendly airspace; the second aircraft landed safely.
A KC-135 was lost during Operation Epic Fury, U.S. Central Command announced on Mar. 12, 2026.
Here’s the statement released by CENTCOM:
U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. 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.
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.
Many KC-135s are currently supporting Operation Epic Fury and some of them have been observed using the emergency transponder code while operating in Israeli airspace. For the moment it’s not clear whether any of the aircraft tracked online squawking 7700 off the Israeli coast were involved in the incident.
#USAF United States Air Force – 🚨 Emergency
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker 1x#AE07C1 63-8017 – MOBIL ??
USAF KC-135 63-8017 is squawking 7700 General Emergency off the Israeli coast, and appears to be burning down some fuel before landing.
This particular KC-135 is 62 years old… pic.twitter.com/c27w7b0Qpj
— Armchair Admiral 🇬🇧 (@ArmchairAdml) March 12, 2026
In Flight Emergency for Tanker over Tel Aviv #FreeIran
— Operation EPIC FURY —
KC-135R “YETI??” 63-8017 #AE07C1
Has begun squawking 7700 indicating an emergency@MATA_osint @AnAustinThing2 pic.twitter.com/sYOJ593Sbm
— DefenceGeek 🇬🇧 (@DefenceGeek) March 12, 2026
This is the first loss of a Stratotanker in almost 13 years. In fact, on May 3, 2013, a KC-135 Stratotanker (KC-135R 63-8877) belonging to the 22 ARW (Air Refueling Wing) from McConnell Air Force Base crashed in Kyrgyzstan, near Chaldovar, a village located about 100 miles west of Manas, the departure airport.
This is the first loss of a KC-135 in support of combat operations since 3 May 2013 when KC-135 63-8877 of the 22nd ARW suffered a structural failure and crashed over Northern Kyrgyzstan after supporting operations in Afghanistan killing all 3 crew members. https://t.co/sn7G8itmwP
— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) March 12, 2026
According to CBS, the other aircraft involved in the midair incident was another KC-135.
According to CBS News, the other aircraft involved in the crash of a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker tonight over Western Iraq was another KC-135, with the tanker that went down in Iraq carrying a total of six servicemembers, while the other tanker was able to safely return to… pic.twitter.com/JgP6LiOirh
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 12, 2026
It wasn’t shot down & another jet was involved. Could be an Air Refueling mishap, but we don’t know that yet.
Parachutes were removed from the KC-135 long ago. A crash landing can be survived, but it depends on terrain & circumstance.
Hope abounds, but fear lingers. https://t.co/Q7bJOiHRoM
— KC-10 Driver ✈️ 👨✈️ B-737 Wrangler (@MCCCANM) March 12, 2026
Although the official sources ruled out the aircraft was lost because of friendly or enemy fire, several accounts on social media are spreading the news that the KC-135 was “shot down”.
⚡️#BREAKING U.S KC-135 reportedly
downed over Iraq pic.twitter.com/3jayAbfMKC
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 12, 2026
The KC-135Rs involved usually operate at an altitude of 19,000ft or 5,791m.
Not impossible that Iraqi Resistance fighters with a 358 Surface-to-air Missile could have targeted them, a reachable target if no fighter jets are around, since this aircraft can’t deploy flares.. https://t.co/cdaTeklHRQ pic.twitter.com/gecyyYrLez
— MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) March 12, 2026
PMU affiliated channels are claiming that they successfully shot down the KC-135.
Weird how they start claiming this just after CENTCOM makes their announcement….those channels also said Iran downed F-15s in the first few days of the war, still waiting for that evidence too….
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) March 12, 2026
This is a developing story, we will update it, as soon as new details emerge.
