On Thursday, Iran announced it had fired a US F-35 Lightning II and it was the first nation to do so. One of the most useful US airplanes, the jet, which is one of the pillars of its fifth-generation warfighting capabilities, was allegedly targeted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) within the airspace of central Iran. A video of the alleged hit has been spread on social media and shown on the official X handle of the Iran consulate general in Mumbai. The IRGC was quoted saying that the strike was on at 2:50 AM (local time with the use of advanced air defence systems of the country). The future of the fighter jet is still unknown with the IRGC saying that there are high chances of the plane to crash and that investigations are still being done.
US officials verified that the F-35 made an emergency landing after it was hit and the pilot was reported to be safe. Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) told CNN that the plane was on an operational combat mission over Iran when it had to land in a US air base in West Asia.
The successful interception of more than 125 US-Israeli drones precedes the interception which IRGC said reflects improvements to the Iranian integrated air defence system. This assertion comes a day following a White House statement declaring the F-35 as a representation of American decisiveness in a post on X, which highlights the importance of Iran’s announcement should it be confirmed.
Other losses to the US military have been the misidentification of three F-15 Eagle jets by the Kuwaiti air defense and the crash of a KC-135 Stratotanker in western Iraq that claimed the lives of all the six crewmembers. The US officials insist that even with these losses, they are on track with their campaign. The Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the US is winning decisively, and the air defence systems of Iran are flattened. Should it be successful, the F-35 strike would have been the first successful strike of the war by Iran upon a US airplane, further escalating the conflict which has been taking place since late February, and the stakes of the continued military operations in the area are also high.
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