First Strike on US F-35: Iran Hits Stealth Jet in Central Airspace

Thursday, 19 March 2026 5:30 PM

The IRGC says the likelihood of the US F-35's crash is very high.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has successfully hit a US Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jet in central Iran's airspace.

According to a statement released by the IRGC on its official news website on Thursday, the jet was struck at 2:50 a.m. local time by the IRGC’s advanced, modern air defense systems.

"The fate of the fighter jet is unclear and under investigation, and the likelihood of its crash is very high," it said.

The IRGC noted that the interception follows the successful downing of more than 125 US-Israeli drones by Iran’s defense systems, signaling significant and purposeful upgrades in the country’s integrated air defense network.

Further details on the incident are still under investigation.

CNN cited sources familiar with the incident as confirming that a US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a US airbase in West Asia after being struck by what is believed to have been Iranian fire.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, confirmed that the fifth-generation stealth jet was conducting a combat mission over Iran when it was forced to land. The incident is currently under investigation, he said.

This marks the first reported instance of Iranian forces hitting a US aircraft since the Israeli-American war of terrorism on Iran began in late February, with the unprovoked assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Both the United States and Israel have been deploying F-35s in the war, with each jet valued at over $100 million.

The alleged emergency landing comes amid continued claims from senior US officials regarding the success of its terrorist operations against Iran.

Extremist US war secretary Pete Hegseth boasted on Thursday morning that the US is “winning decisively” and emphasized that Iran’s air defenses have been “flattened.”

Hegseth has made numerous controversial statements, in which he sees America’s military aggressions, especially against Islamic nations, as part of a larger crusade seeking to bring about Armageddon.

His extremism is reflected in his tattoos, including the Jerusalem Cross, a religious symbol associated with the violent Crusades of Europeans to reclaim al-Quds from Muslims and the phrase “Deus Vult” (“God Wills It”) inked on his body, a rallying cry of the Crusaders.

These tattoos, along with his self-published book American Crusade, which frames the fight against Islam as a modern-day “crusade,” have reportedly sparked numerous complaints from his service members who see an apparent connection between his extremist worldview and the ongoing terrorist war on Iran.