A US F-15 Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed in Kuwait amid ongoing military operations in the Iran conflict. The twin-seat aircraft, described as one of the most capable US military jets equivalent to India's Sukhoi-30MKI, was seen free-falling after pilots ejected safely. The cause of the crash remains unclear, with speculation ranging from mechanical malfunction to possible friendly fire or surface-to-air missile interception. The incident marks the first equipment casualty for the US in the conflict, not counting ground-based radars. The region is witnessing an unprecedented level of air operations with 300 to 400 fighter aircraft including F-16s, F-15s, F-18s, F-22 Raptors, and Israeli F-35s deployed. This represents the biggest air campaign in the region since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Iran has indicated mixed signals regarding negotiations while maintaining military readiness with approximately 3,000 long-range missile systems.
U.S. fighter jet that has crashed in Kuwait, this is the latest that is just coming in while U.S.
bases are being targeted. In the latest we are learning of how a U.S. fighter jet has crashed
in Kuwait. Let's not forget how there have been casualties when it comes to U.S. soldiers and
Donald Trump also saying that there can be escalation in the weeks to come. Sandeep as
we stay with those pictures I want to come back to those exact moments of when the U.S. fighter
jet crashed in Kuwait. U.S. also bearing the brunt of it. Well yes Suresha that looks like a twin
seat fighter jet of possibly of an F-15. It's hard to tell right now but it looks like an F-15.
The pilots seem to have ejected and the plane has lost control and it's just crashing. It's
hard to tell what brought that aircraft down. Was it a malfunction? Was it intercepted by
you know surface to air missile? Was it sabotaged? It's not very clear but you know you can just
imagine that the number of aircraft that are in the theatre at the moment. There's something like
three or four hundred fighter aircraft of all types. There are F-16s, there are F-15s, there are
F-18s, F-22 Raptors as well. These are some of the deadliest stealth aircraft that the United
States possesses and of course there is a whole lot of aircraft from Israel's side. They have
their F-16s, their F-15s and F-35s in the fray. So literally a whole menagerie of aircraft out
there. It is one of the most unprecedented level of air attacks that we have seen in this region.
The biggest since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Oh yes absolutely. Sandeep do stay on. Let me also bring in my colleague
Shivani Sharma on the broadcast. Shivani because the question that is also being asked from day
one. Do Americans want this war? How is it going to fare on Trump's governance, Trump's decisions?
More the damage is on the American side. Casualties to American soldiers and how is that
going to be handled by the Trump administration? See there are already reactions that are coming
in not only from the international community but the people within the United States of America.
We've been getting some reactions especially after when Iran has hit at Dubai and you know
there are hundreds of businesses owned by America in Dubai in UAE which are getting
hampered and impacted and when it comes to Iran, Iran also says that it's just not ready to bow
down. It has been preparing for this kind of a situation for decades. It has missile systems
around approximately 3,000 long-range missile systems. It has hundreds and thousands of drones
and it was preparing for this situation and what the remarks are now coming in from Iranian side,
it's very clear that it's just not, it doesn't want to negotiate. So this seems that this was,
this will be an escalation from both the sides. We see the involvement of multiple other nations
also now in this conflict, not only the Israelis and the United States but there is proactive
counter attacks that are seen in UAE. So certainly there are mixed reactions. The
situation is going to get challenging for not only US, Israel, Iran but multiple other nations
that will be directly and indirectly impacted by this conflict and every nation is now calling for
restraint by both the sides. We have to see that how the situation develops. Is there some
negotiation that can actually take place because there were some signals that were coming in from
the foreign minister of Iran where he said that he's ready for talks but at the same time we also
got some very strong statements from the other side in Iran itself. So Iran is also assessing
the situation and keeping all the options open but as of now we do not see any de-escalation
in this conflict and more and more countries are getting impacted now.
Oh yes and let me also take this to Geeta who continues to stay with us. Geeta you know with
the sort of messaging that is coming in from Iran at this point, we are not scared of the
consequences but we will not back down. That's really what it's looking like despite the fact
that not just the ones who are direct stakeholders in this conflict but even the others who are
getting impacted are now turning against Iran. US is claiming that they are ready for nuclear talks
but Iran is denying those claims. US also saying that this can go on for the next few weeks.
Israel saying that there are more than 2500 targets. How do you see this escalation on day three?
Well how I see it is that both sides are sending mixed signals. They first said that
Trump said that the Iranian side wanted a conversation and they have gotten in touch.
The Iranians then rejected those claims with Iraq saying well you have blown up the negotiating
table itself. Then the chief of the National Security Council Ali Larijani, one of the most
important people today in Tehran, has now said that he's agreed to talks with the US immediate
talks with the United States of America. We'll have to wait and see whether if the two sides
finally will decide on talks and come to the talking table or not because this, what we're
seeing right now Suresh, is unsustainable. It cannot sustain for beyond a few more days.
The markets will crash, economy will come crumbling down. We're talking about a global
scale not just confined to a region or one country. The other aspect that you asked about
on Iran is the fact that Iran is not backing down and then the others are coming together
against Iran. More countries joining in. This is a war where Iran has, it's a do or die situation
for Iran. There is no other way but to fight this one out. Their supreme leader has been killed,
top leadership completely eliminated but they've been prepared. This is not a country that was
unprepared. They've been preparing for decades, years and decades in ensuring that no matter what
the continuity of leadership should exist. So, which is what Araqchi in his interview told me
when I said that should you go to war, should there be a war. The first target and the main
target is the supreme leader. He said yes and should that happen we have a system in place
to appoint another supreme leader which is exactly what is happening right now.
And the top leadership again replaced immediately. They have the first run, second, third, fourth.
It goes down four or five layers. So, Iran with its back to the wall, not giving in, not giving up.
Now, sending messages for talks but this is a do or die situation. It is, it is, it is certainly
and Geeta, we stay with those pictures. Sandeep, I want to come to you. Just take a closer look at
those pictures. That jet that lost control is falling right down. A US fighter jet that crashed
in Kuwait. Reasons for jet crash that are not known yet but this is amid the Iran war where US
lost the F-15 jet and there you see on camera US F-15 on free fall in Kuwait. Sandeep, I want to
come to you because the damage on the American side is pertinent given the fact that the Trump
administration will be answerable for all these losses and really for you having covered, you
know, these situations on the ground. Explain to us how the US is militarily combating this.
So, Ayesha, that aircraft that you see is an F-15 Strike Eagle. It is one of the most capable
US aircraft. It is an all-weather multi-role fighter aircraft. It is equal to our Sukhoi
30 MKI that the Indian Air Force uses. This aircraft is, it is a fighter bomber as well.
It is, it is called a Strike Eagle because it carries a very heavy armament load. It can carry
something like 10 tons of, you know, bombs, missiles, air to ground munitions and to give
you an idea how heavy that is, 10 tons is equal to two MiG-21 aircraft. So, that F-15 over there
can carry the weight of two MiG-21 aircraft and we are not very clear what forced that aircraft
to go down. It is possible that it could be an incident of friendly fire as is being speculated
but clearly the pilots seem to have punched out early. It is just the aircraft that is being,
you know, falling, pre-falling to the ground. It is the first casualty of the US in terms of
equipment that they have actually lost there, not counting the radars, you know, on the ground,
the kind of, you know, damage that the Iranian missiles and drones have managed to inflict. But,
you know, as you said, clearly this is, we are now in uncharted territory. If the US thought that
it could get into this war and bring about some kind of predictability in terms of outcomes,
what we are seeing in the last 48 hours is anything but, right. This is expanding into
territory. It is pulling more countries in. Nobody expected Iran to carry out that attack on Cyprus.
So, it is, you know, it is on dangerous territory.