Iran Allegedly Shoots Down US F-35 Stealth Fighter Amid Escalating Tensions

Tehran. Amid escalating US-Israel tensions against Iran, two sources familiar with the matter told US media that an American F-35 fighter jet was struck by Iran while returning from a combat mission last week, following an emergency landing at a Middle Eastern airbase. This claim has also been reported by Iranian state media.

If true, this would mark the first time Iran has struck an F-35 aircraft, considered the cornerstone of Washington's air strike capability, during this conflict.

Following the emergency landing of the F-35 stealth fighter on Thursday, Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the US Central Command (CENTCOM), stated that the aircraft landed safely and the pilot's condition was stable. “This incident is under investigation,” Hawkins added, without disclosing why or where the aircraft landed.

On the same day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement claiming responsibility for targeting the American aircraft.

The supersonic fighter jet is designed to be undetectable by radar and other technologies.

According to a report from 'Air & Space Forces Magazine,' which covers US air defense and national security issues, on Sunday, the pilot sustained injuries from shrapnel. Citing anonymous sources knowledgeable about the incident, the report stated the aircraft was hit from the ground.

Iran's Tasnim news agency released a military video claiming the footage showed Tehran's air defense system striking the American F-35 stealth fighter.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has release a statement, accompanied by video footage, which claims to show the targeting of an American F-35A/B Lightning ll with a surface-to-air missile in the skies over Iran. This claim by the IRGC follows reports that a F-35… pic.twitter.com/5omxjVESR3

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 19, 2026

• What is the F-35 and what are its characteristics?

The F-35 refers to a series of stealth strike fighter aircraft manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Martin. Its official website describes the F-35 Lightning II (the aircraft's full name) as the world's most advanced fighter jet.

Much of the aircraft's air superiority reputation comes from the combination of stealth technology, advanced sensors, and high-speed computing. This jet is engineered to be less detectable than previous generations of fighter aircraft and capable of gathering more information about its surroundings, feeding data directly to the pilot from a 360-degree camera suite and other sensors.

John Phillips, a British security and risk consultant and former military chief instructor, told Al Jazeera, “The key to the F-35 is its radar suite.” Radar suites are combinations of hardware and software that help detect and analyze specific threats and respond to those threats.

Phillips clarified, “There isn't one standard radar suite, and they differ by nation. The rumor is that only certain countries were given specific radars by the manufacturer. I think this is to prevent foreign adversaries like China or Russia from trying to 'reverse engineer' the technology.”

Several countries, including Australia, Canada, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK, are partners with the US in F-35 production. They either produce specific parts of the fighter jet or have facilities to assemble jets used by their own governments.

Other countries purchasing these jets, numbering 20, include Japan, South Korea, the UK, Italy, Australia, and Israel.

There are three variants of the Lightning II F-35, all of which have weapons integrated internally to enhance their stealth design. The F-35A is the most common model and is widely held by other countries. It can take off and land on conventional runways, similar to those used by commercial aircraft.

The F-35B is used by Italy, Japan, Singapore, the UK, and the US. It is capable of vertical landing like a helicopter and taking off from very short runways, making it a good option for operation from short air strips, mountainous areas, coastlines, or small islands.

The F-35C is a supersonic aircraft, meaning it can travel faster than the speed of sound. The US Navy uses this model for long-range stealth operations. So far, this model is only with the US Navy. According to Lockheed Martin, the US Marine Corps is also acquiring F-35C aircraft to operate alongside their F-35B. Unlike the F-35B, the F-35C requires a longer runway.

It has not been disclosed which of these three models was the aircraft allegedly shot down by Iran last week.

• If Iran shot down one aircraft, why would it be so significant?

US officials have not yet confirmed that an F-35 fighter jet was actually hit by an Iranian attack last week. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump told reporters, “We are flying where we want. No one has shot at us.”

F-35 stealth fighters have been deployed in combat operations since 2018, and no incident of the aircraft being struck by enemy fire has been confirmed.

Therefore, defense experts have stated, “If the claim by Iran that it successfully targeted an F-35 aircraft is true, it would prove that the F-35 is not invincible in combat.”

Ali Vazle, Director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera, “This would be significant—not in the sense that stealth technology is becoming useless, but rather it would show that the F-35 is not invincible even in a dense and adaptive air-defense environment.”

“At this stage, there is no reliable public evidence that any basic surface-to-air missile system achieved this success on its own,” he added.

• Which US jets have been shot down in the war with Iran?

Since the US-Israeli attack on Iran began on February 28, the US has reportedly lost twelve MQ-9 Reaper drones. According to US Air Force information, these drones are flown remotely and are primarily used for gathering intelligence in an area, as well as for attack, coordination, and surveillance against high-value, fast-moving, and time-sensitive targets.

In addition, US officials stated that five KC-135 refueling aircraft were damaged during an Iranian missile attack on a Saudi Arabian base on March 14, although these reports have not been independently confirmed.

On March 1, three US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were shot down in a 'friendly fire' incident involving a Kuwaiti F/A-18 on March 1. All six crew members ejected safely and were rescued.

On Sunday, Iran claimed to have intercepted an F-15 fighter jet that violated Iranian airspace near its southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz. However, the US has denied this claim. CENTCOM wrote on X, “False: Rumors by the Iranian regime that a US F-15 was recently shot down over Iran are false.”

“True: US forces have flown over 8,000 combat sorties during Operation Epic Fury. No US fighter aircraft has been shot down by Iran.”

At least 13 US soldiers have been killed and around 200 injured in combat operations against Iran. According to local health officials, at least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured in Iran since the conflict began.