Iran’s Air Defence Hits F-35, First Time in the World

Darwin, 20 March:

Iran has reportedly become the first country in the world to strike one of the United States’ most advanced F-35 fighter jets using an air defense system.

On Thursday, after detecting the aircraft on radar over Tehran, Iran’s elite force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), launched a missile at it, causing the aircraft to catch fire.

According to the American news outlet CNN, the fifth-generation fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing at a U.S. base in the Middle East following the attack.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has released video footage claiming to show the detection and strike on the U.S. warplane.

A spokesperson for the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), Captain Tim Hawkins, said that the fifth-generation aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing while carrying out “a combat mission against Iran.” He added that the aircraft landed safely and the incident is under investigation.

This marks the first time a U.S. aircraft has been directly targeted by Iran since the joint U.S.-Israel strikes began on February 28. It is also claimed to be the first instance in the world of an F-35 being detected and attacked. Both the United States and Israel operate the advanced F-35 fighter jets. Each aircraft costs more than $100 million to produce.

The emergency landing comes at a time when senior U.S. officials have been claiming significant success in their operations against Iran. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday morning that the United States is “decisively winning” and that Iran’s air defense systems have been “devastated.”

Following the incident, shares of Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35, reportedly declined.

Meanwhile, in response to attacks on its gas fields, Iran launched strikes on several locations in Israel. In the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, a rocket attack injured several people, one of them seriously. At the same time, a missile strike targeted the Bazan Group’s oil refinery in the Haifa area.

Iran also carried out military operations in various Middle Eastern countries. An attack on the Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar reportedly damaged about 17% of the country’s gas export capacity, raising concerns of an annual loss of around $20 billion. Following this, Trump announced that Israel would no longer target Iran’s energy sector.