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US military plane goes missing near Qatar after distress signal | What we know
As per flight tracking platforms, the US military aircraft was headed towards Qatar at the time of the distress call.
A US military refuelling aircraft has gone missing after flight radar systems tracked an emergency distress call. As per Flightradar24 data, the KC-135 Stratotanker transmitted a "7700" distress signal over the Persian Gulf, near Iran.
As per flight tracking platforms, the US military aircraft was headed towards Qatar at the time of the distress call.
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Furthermore, regional-level AIS and GPS jamming and spoofing has also been reported over the Strait of Hormuz as the war between the United States and Iran escalates.
US military plane missing? What we know
- Based on regional reports and Iran's Tasnim news agency, the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, also known as the "flying gas station", reportedly experienced an in-flight emergency over the Arabian Gulf/Strait of Hormuz region. The incident occurred when the aircraft was conducting refuelling operations over the Gulf when it transmitted the distress signal.
- The aircraft squawked a "7700" distress signal, which translates to "general emergency", before it vanished from tracking systems. The signal is internationally recognised to indicate a serious in-flight emergency.
- No mention of the missing aircraft was made during US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's press conference on Monday (local time). Furthermore, a statement from US Central Command regarding the same is awaited.
- The fate of the aircraft remains unconfirmed as a statement from the US government is awaited.
- As per Gulf News, H125 light utility helicopters were observed in the area after the military aircraft lost its signal.
Not the first incident for a KC-135
In March, a KC-135 aircraft went down in Iraq during the peak of the US-Iran war.
“Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely,” said CENTCOM in a statement.
While CENTCOM added that the crash was not due to hostile fire, Iran's IRGC took responsibility for the attack.
