Overview
- CENTCOM said the F-35 returned to a regional base after a combat sortie over Iran, landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition as an inquiry gets underway.
- Two sources cited by multiple outlets reported the jet was struck by suspected Iranian fire during the mission, a detail U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed.
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guard asserted it hit and “seriously damaged” the aircraft and circulated video purporting to show a strike, which has not been independently verified.
- U.S. statements conflict with Iranian claims of a likely crash, with CENTCOM emphasizing the aircraft’s safe landing and withholding conclusions on the cause.
- If hostile fire is confirmed, it would be the first known Iranian hit on a U.S. manned aircraft in this war and could be the first publicly reported combat damage to an F-35, even as U.S. leaders tout degraded Iranian air defenses.