The U.S. military confirmed on Monday that three F-15 jets were shot down "due to an apparent friendly fire incident" in Kuwait as the war in the Middle East continues.

The US lost three F-15 fighter jets to friendly fire in Kuwait on March 1, but this marks the first confirmed downing of a US jet by enemy fire in this conflict -- and the first confirmed shootdown by enemy fire in over two decades.

Iran’s armed forces claim that a U.S. fighter jet has been shot down over the country. According to Iranian state media, a U.S. F-35 was downed, although photos of the wreckage of a fighter on the ground point squarely to the aircraft involved being a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle — provided they are legitimate.

For pilots, the most dangerous part of the mission often begins after they eject, according to a retired brigadier general.

The search-and-rescue mission for a downed fighter jet crew member is ongoing as the war in the Middle East rages on.

Trump, who has frequently made sweeping claims about jets being downed during the India-Pakistan conflict last year, brushed aside the loss of three F-15s, stating that all was good because the pilots survived.

Pilots shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait early in the war are already back in the fight — and carried out a bombing campaign in Iran’s capital city overnight. “They never left the theater — all dropped bombs over Tehran last night,

On April 14, 1994, over the mountains of northern Iraq, a routine patrol inside the No-Fly Zone turned into one of the deadliest friendly fire incidents in modern history. Pilots flying F-15 Eagle aircraft detected unidentified radar contacts,