A U.S. KC-135 aerial tanker has gone down over western Iraq, military officials announced Thursday. Rescue efforts are ongoing, according to a brief news release from U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM.
The incident took place in uncontested airspace while it was flying in support of the ongoing U.S. military operations against Iran that began on Feb. 28, the news release says.
“Two aircraft were involved in the incident,” the news release says. “One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
An Associated Press reporter posted on social media that the second aircraft was also a KC-135.
No further information was immediately available about the circumstances of the incident or how many U.S. troops were aboard the KC-135. Most KC-135s fly with 3 crew members, according to an Air Force fact sheet — a pilot, co-pilot and a boom operator, who “flies” the refueling probe, or boom, from the rear of the aircraft (older models may also fly with a navigator).
Mishaps are uncommon but do occur
Officials did not say if the tanker was engaged in refueling when it crashed. But while air-to-air refueling is a routine skill practiced by nearly all Air Force pilots, the maneuver is inherently risky, and mishaps do occur.
The Air Force recently released a series of mishap reports on three mid-refueling accidents that all occurred between 2022 and 2024 during otherwise routine training. All three involved the refueling boom becoming lodged on a plane while refueling with a newer Air Force tanker, the KC-46.
The 2024 mishap was violent enough to rip the refueling boom off the tanker. It fell harmlessly away as the two planes separated, but could have brought down either jet had it impacted them.
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In 2013, a KC-135 crashed in the Kyrgyz Republic while supporting operations over Afghanistan. Air Force investigators determined that crash was unrelated to combat. The plane broke apart in mid-air after the autopilot incorrectly reacted to steering issues and the two relatively inexperienced pilots did not properly react.
Based on a commercial airliner, KC-135’s are among the Air Force’s oldest airplanes, originally entering service in 1956. They are also among the most frequently called up. The plane’s mission — refueling other aircraft, from fighters to cargo planes — during flight has been one U.S. Air Force’s primary strategic advantages in conflicts dating to Vietnam.
The Air Force has about 400 KC-135s, with mission-capable rates of about 70%, according to 2023 data. Multiple efforts to replace the KC-135 with newer tankers in recent decades — first with KC-10s, then the KC-46, along with leasing plans for other aircraft — have foundered in budget and delivery issues.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.
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