Every war the Kuwait Air Force has fought
The air-to-air claims of 2 August 1990 are Kuwaiti claims as summarised by Wikipedia; no Iraqi figures were found. Wikipedia’s articles contradict each other on Desert Storm: one credits the Free Kuwait Air Force with 1,361 sorties, another says the evacuated aircraft were not used in the war. Human Rights Watch findings on the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen concern the coalition broadly, and no source checked attributes specific strikes to Kuwaiti aircraft. In March 2026 US Central Command said three US F-15Es were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences, while the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, said a Kuwaiti F/A-18 fired; no Kuwaiti account of the claim was found. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From the Iraqi invasion of 2 August 1990 to the Iranian strikes of 2026.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| The Iraqi invasion of Kuwaitthe air battle of 2 August 1990Kuwait Air Force | 1990 | Iraq | Mirage F1CK/BK, A-4KU/TA-4KU Skyhawk, SA342 Gazelleand 1 more | — | — | |
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Attacked advancing Iraqi columns and helicopters from Ahmad al-Jaber, Ali Al Salem and improvised road strips, then evacuated most aircraft to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Iraq’s invasion began before dawn on 2 August 1990. A delay in Iraqi air attacks let the Kuwaiti air force get airborne: the Library of Congress country study, reproduced by GlobalSecurity, records A-4 crews attacking Republican Guard divisions moving on Kuwait City between 05:00 and 06:00. Iraqi aircraft scattered mines on the runways at Ahmad al-Jaber, so returning Mirage F1s and Skyhawks put down on the roads around the base, and some aircraft took off from highways as the runways were overrun. Ali Al Salem held out longest: Wikipedia says General Saber Suwaidan and a small group defended it while pilots flew resupply missions from Saudi Arabia on 3 August, and it was overrun by nightfall. Wikipedia’s Mirage F1 article lists Kuwaiti claims for the day of 13 Puma or Mi-8 helicopters, two Gazelles, two Mi-24s, two Su-22M4s, a MiG-21 and an Il-76. Losses on the Kuwaiti side, per Wikipedia’s air campaign article, were 12 fixed-wing aircraft destroyed on the ground and eight helicopters, six of them shot down. The Lightnings stored at the airport since 1977 were largely destroyed. Wikipedia’s invasion article estimates that 80 per cent of the air force reached Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Outcome Kuwait was occupied within two days; about 80 per cent of the air force escaped and re-formed in Saudi Arabia. The air-to-air claims are Kuwaiti claims as summarised by Wikipedia; no Iraqi figures or independent confirmation were found. Loss figures come from two Wikipedia articles (20 per cent lost; 12 fixed-wing and eight helicopters) and were not checked against the Gulf War Air Power Survey.
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| Operation Desert Stormthe Free Kuwait Air ForceFree Kuwait Air Force | 1991 | Iraq | A-4KU Skyhawk, Mirage F1CK | 1,361 | 1 | |
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Flew day ground-attack missions with A-4KUs and Mirage F1s as part of the US-led coalition. Wikipedia’s Skyhawk article says 24 of the 29 A-4KUs still in service in 1990 escaped to Saudi Arabia and, with the surviving Mirage F1s, flew as the Free Kuwait Air Force; its air campaign article lists 20 Skyhawks and 15 Mirage F1s with the coalition. The Library of Congress country study notes the limits of both types: the A-4 had no radar warning gear and the F1’s air-to-air radar was unreliable, which confined both to day ground attack. Wikipedia’s Kuwait Armed Forces article says Kuwaiti Skyhawks destroyed several Iraqi naval vessels trying to reach Bubiyan Island. One A-4KU was lost to a radar-guided missile on the first day of the air war, 17 January 1991. The coalition’s own bombing reduced Ahmad al-Jaber and Ali Al Salem to rubble and destroyed nearly all of their roughly 50 hardened shelters, so the air force came home to nothing. Immediately after the war it had about 1,000 personnel, 34 combat aircraft and 12 armed helicopters, according to Wikipedia. Outcome Kuwait was liberated in February 1991; its two air bases were left in ruins by coalition bombing. Wikipedia’s articles contradict each other: the Skyhawk article gives 1,361 sorties, while the invasion article says the evacuated aircraft were not used in the war and patrolled the Saudi–Yemeni border instead. The higher figure is consistent with the Library of Congress study but was not checked against the Gulf War Air Power Survey; treat it as reported, not confirmed.
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| Operation Southern Watchpatrols over southern IraqKuwait Air Force | 1992–2003 | Iraq | F/A-18C/D Hornet | — | — | |
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Kuwaiti aircraft flew missions over Iraq alongside the US-led enforcement of the southern no-fly zone, according to Wikipedia; Kuwaiti bases hosted coalition aircraft. After the war Kuwait became one of the main hosts of the coalition air presence watching Iraq. Wikipedia’s Hornet article says Kuwaiti aircraft flew missions over Iraq during Operation Southern Watch in the 1990s; Ali Al Salem hosted coalition forces for Southern Watch and later for Iraqi Freedom, with the US 386th Air Expeditionary Wing as its principal American unit. No Kuwaiti sortie totals or details of Kuwaiti missions were found. Outcome The no-fly zone ended with the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Kuwaiti role rests on a single sentence in Wikipedia; start and end years are those of the operation, not confirmed Kuwaiti participation dates. |
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| Saudi-led intervention in YemenOperation Decisive Storm and afterKuwait Air Force | 2015– | Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) | F/A-18C/D Hornet | 3,000 | — | |
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Contributed F/A-18 Hornets to the coalition air campaign against the Houthi movement. Kuwait was among the members of the coalition Saudi Arabia assembled in March 2015 to intervene in Yemen. Wikipedia’s Hornet article says the Kuwait Air Force commander revealed in February 2017 that F/A-18s based at King Khalid Air Base in Saudi Arabia had flown approximately 3,000 sorties over Yemen. The coalition campaign as a whole has been heavily criticised: Human Rights Watch had documented 62 apparently unlawful coalition airstrikes by March 2017, some of which it said may amount to war crimes, killing nearly 900 civilians. Those findings concern the coalition broadly; none of the sources checked attributes specific strikes to Kuwaiti aircraft. The coalition and its members have said their strikes target military objectives. Outcome Kuwait’s later role and an end date for its air contribution were not found. The 3,000-sortie figure is a Kuwaiti statement relayed by Wikipedia and was not confirmed on a Kuwaiti or KUNA page. The coalition’s general position is summarised, not quoted.
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| The 2026 Iran warIranian strikes on KuwaitKuwait Air Force | 2026 | Iran | F/A-18C/D Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon | — | — | |
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Defended Kuwait against Iranian missiles, drones and aircraft alongside ground-based air defences and US forces. On 28 February 2026 US and Israeli strikes on Iran began what Wikipedia calls the 2026 Iran war; Iran retaliated against US and allied targets across the Gulf, and from 1 March Kuwait came under missile and drone attack, including Kuwait International Airport, refineries and the bases used by US forces. In the confusion of the first night three US F-15E Strike Eagles went down over Kuwait. US Central Command said that at 23:03 Eastern time on 1 March, during attacks by Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones, the jets were “mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses”; all six crew ejected and were recovered. Kuwait’s government said several US aircraft had crashed and that all crew had survived. On 4 March the Wall Street Journal, citing three people familiar with initial reports, said a Kuwaiti F/A-18 pilot had launched three missiles at the American aircraft. CENTCOM declined further comment because the incident was under investigation, and Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence did not address the claim, according to The Aviationist. Outcome Continuing in the sources checked; a ceasefire from 8 April 2026 collapsed on 8 July, per Wikipedia. Whether the F-15Es were hit by a Kuwaiti fighter or by ground-based air defences is disputed: CENTCOM’s statement names Kuwaiti air defences, while the Wall Street Journal’s anonymous sources name an F/A-18. No official Kuwaiti account was found. Casualty figures are Wikipedia’s and differ between articles.
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Every figure, checked
- GlobalSecurity: Kuwait Air Force (Library of Congress country study text)About 2,200 personnel and about 80 combat aircraft in 1990; A-4 attacks on 2 August; most sorties of the Gulf states in 1991; Hornet delivery restrictions.
- The Aviationist: Three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles shot down in apparent friendly fire incident in Kuwait (2 March 2026)CENTCOM statement: shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses; Kuwaiti government statement on crew survival.
- The Aviationist: Kuwaiti F/A-18 allegedly involved in F-15E friendly fire incident (4 March 2026)Wall Street Journal report citing unnamed sources; CENTCOM declined comment.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Kuwait Air Force.