A video shared by Tehran Times claims to show the moment a US F-35 fighter jet was hit during a combat mission over Iranian airspace. The clip shows the aircraft appearing to take damage, with explosions, smoke trails, and the jet veering off course mid-air.
A US F-35 fighter jet was attacked during an Iranian strike and forced to make an emergency landing at a military base in the Middle East, according to CNN. The claim, first made by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), would mark the first known instance of Iran hitting one of the US military’s most advanced and expensive aircraft in the ongoing conflict in Middle East.
According to the IRGC, the stealth jet was struck by air defence systems over central Iran in the early hours of Thursday. A video shared by Tehran Times claims to show the moment a US F-35 fighter jet was hit during a combat mission over Iranian airspace. The clip shows the aircraft appearing to take damage, with explosions, smoke trails, and the jet veering off course midair.
In a statement, the IRGC said it had "struck and seriously damaged" the aircraft at around 2.50 am (local time), adding that the jet’s fate remains unclear and that there is a "high possibility" it may have crashed. The group also said the operation followed the interception of more than 125 US-Israeli drones, calling it evidence of improvements in Iran’s air defence systems.
If confirmed, the incident would mark the first time Iran has successfully targeted an F-35, a fifth-generation fighter jet that costs more than $100 million and is considered a cornerstone of US air power. Both the US and Israel have been deploying F-35s extensively since the conflict escalated on February 28.
US CONFIRMS EMERGENCY LANDING, PLAYS DOWN DAMAGE
According to CNN, US Central Command said the aircraft was "flying a combat mission over Iran" when it was forced to make an emergency landing. "The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition," spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins told CNN. "This incident is under investigation."
However, Washington has not issued any official statement. The Pentagon said its operations are going as planned, with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the US is "winning decisively" and that Iran’s air defences have been "flattened".
Amid escalating conflict, at least 16 US aircraft have reportedly been destroyed since the start of the war, including 10 Reaper drones, while several others have been damaged in combat or accidents.
[ADDENDUM]
The actual video of the event, plus more, from The Hindustan Times:
Wouldn't that depend on how successful US is at shooting down Chinese planes and how many planes each one has? If China can damage one F-35 in, let's say, 5% of the missions US is sending but US can shoot down 90% of Chinese fighters it sees and they have similar numbers of planes, wouldn't US still have air superiority?
Considering the Chinese have all of our F-35 development blueprints and all our other development blueprints, yeah shit is fucked. Opsec for DoD contractors has been trash for at least twenty years and before that it was easy enough to simply bribe someone because healthcare costs compromise almost every us citizen.
Sure and if I made 90% of my basketball shots and Lebron James missed 90% of them I'd beat him in basketball.
I mean yeah, theoretically, but that ain't happening. China is a peer competitor with the same level of technology as the US, while Iran is a scrappy underdog. China also massively outproduces the US.
Let's hope we will never find out if that's true.
Or if we do, it's a limited engagement that doesn't end with nukes flying. Iran winning this war will make future wars less likely, so I'm hoping for that as well.
Do you remember last year when Pakistan shot down 3 rafaels? It was chinese aircrafts operating chinese missiles. Only the pilots were Pakistani.
Yeah, my numbers are just examples. What I'm saying is that one hit doesn't end air superiority. You need to know how effective both sides are at eliminating targets.
Right, that's why they said if it happens again, and yes because if you lose 10% of your planes each day you have to stop sending the planes unless you want to get them all blown up in ten days.