Drone Strikes Hit Kuwait Airport, Damaging Radar System With No Casualties

Black smoke rose over Kuwait International Airport on Saturday after multiple drone strikes hit the facility's radar infrastructure, delivering one of the most disruptive attacks yet on Gulf civil aviation as the wider regional conflict continued to spread beyond military targets.

Abdullah Al-Rajhi, spokesperson for Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, confirmed the scale of the damage in a statement carried by the state news agency KUNA. "Kuwait International Airport was subjected to several drone attacks, which struck its radar system, resulting in significant technical damage," Al-Rajhi said. He added that emergency response teams and relevant authorities mobilized immediately to assess conditions, implement safety protocols, and begin work to restore full operational capability.

Eyewitnesses described emergency vehicles converging on the airport as smoke billowed from the strike zone. Flights were delayed and rerouted as air-traffic control personnel worked around the disabled radar system. Several airlines operating through the Gulf issued passenger advisories and redirected services to neighboring airports while the damage assessment continued.

Al-Rajhi attributed the strikes to Iran, its affiliated groups, and armed factions it supports, framing the attack as part of the broader wave of retaliatory actions that has swept the region in recent weeks following U.S. and Israeli operations against Iranian targets. No group immediately claimed responsibility, and Kuwaiti security authorities opened an investigation to determine the precise origin of the drones.

Officials stressed that no deaths or injuries were recorded, a fact underscored in nearly every statement issued by Kuwaiti authorities in the hours after the strikes. But they did not minimize what a functioning radar system means for safe flight operations: without it, air-traffic controllers cannot reliably track, sequence, or separate aircraft, creating safety and logistical risks that extend well beyond Kuwait's airspace.

Kuwait International Airport sits at the center of one of the world's busiest regional air corridors, handling connections between Asia, Africa, and Europe. Damage to its radar array does not simply inconvenience travelers; it sends cascading delays and rerouting decisions across airlines and cargo operators whose schedules depend on predictable Gulf transit. Analysts have warned that if attacks on transportation hubs continue, carriers and insurers will reassess risk models for the entire region, potentially forcing long-term changes to flight paths, insurance premiums, and operating costs that could last months.

Saturday's strike was also not Kuwait's first encounter with drone-related infrastructure damage this month. Earlier in March, drone attacks ignited fires at fuel storage facilities at the same airport, and Shuwaikh Port reported material damage from a similar UAV incursion just a day before the radar strike. Kuwaiti defense forces have been on elevated alert and have intercepted multiple drone threats during that period, but Saturday's attack penetrated those defenses to reach one of the airport's most critical systems.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation pledged continued coordination with security services to investigate the attack, expedite repairs, and protect civil aviation infrastructure. International carriers and regional partners are expected to maintain contingency operations through neighboring airports until Kuwait's radar system is restored, with the timeline for full recovery still unclear as of Sunday morning.