A US Air Force F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a military base in the Middle East after sustaining damage during a combat mission over Iran, according to US officials, in what could mark the first known case of the stealth aircraft being hit in the current conflict.
US Central Command said the fifth-generation jet was operating over Iranian territory when it was forced to divert. “The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” a spokesperson said, adding that the incident remains under investigation. No details were provided on the extent of the damage or the exact location of the landing.
Iran, however, offered a more assertive account. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its air defense systems struck and “seriously damaged” an F-35 over central Iran during an overnight engagement, claiming the aircraft’s fate was uncertain and suggesting it may have crashed.
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The competing narratives could not be independently verified. If confirmed, the incident would represent a rare case of an F-35 being successfully engaged by an adversary’s air defenses, a scenario the aircraft was designed to avoid through stealth and electronic warfare capabilities.
The F-35, built by Lockheed Martin, is a fifth-generation fighter designed with low-observable, or stealth, characteristics intended to improve survivability in contested airspace. It is the most widely produced aircraft of its kind, with more than 1,000 units delivered to multiple operators worldwide, forming the backbone of several allied air forces.
The episode comes amid intensifying hostilities following a joint US-Israeli offensive launched on February 28. Iran says it has intercepted more than 125 drones during the campaign and has responded with missile and drone strikes across the region, targeting Israel and countries hosting US forces.
The US military has already reported other aircraft losses in the conflict, though none previously attributed to hostile fire. Three F-15 fighters were shot down by allied air defenses in separate incidents, while a KC-135 tanker crashed in Iraq under circumstances still under review.
Senior US officials have maintained that the campaign is achieving its objectives, despite the growing number of incidents and rising regional instability.
