KC 135 Crash: On March 12, 2026, during Operation Epic Fury, a military campaign aimed at Iranian military infrastructure, a KC-135 Stratotanker, one of the US Air Force’s most important aerial refuelling planes, crashed in western Iraq.
The US Central Command says that two planes were involved in the incident and were flying in friendly airspace. One plane landed safely, but the second KC-135 crashed during the mission.
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There are conflicting reports about the crash
Pro-Iran groups said they shot down the plane with a missile shortly after the event. They said that all of the people on board died.
But US officials strongly denied these claims. Military sources say that the crash was not caused by an attack but by operational or technical problems. They also said that the plane was flying in friendly airspace.
The KC-135 Stratotanker is an important plane that refuels other planes in the air, which lets fighter jets and bombers stay in the air longer during combat. Even though it has been in use for a long time, accidents involving the platform are rare. The last big accident with a KC-135 happened in 2013.
Operation Epic Fury Makes Tensions in the Region Worse
The plane was said to be helping with missions as part of Operation Epic Fury, a joint US-Israeli effort to attack Iranian military bases, including those connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and missile infrastructure.
What did Donald Trump say?
President Donald Trump said in recent speeches that US military operations against Iran are still going on “at full force.” Trump has said in the past that Iran’s military capabilities have gotten a lot weaker, pointing to a big drop in drone attacks on US and allied targets. He also said again that the campaign will go on until the US reaches its goals in the area.