JUST IN: U.S. F-35 Fighter Jet Makes Emergency Landing, Iran Reportedly Claims It Struck Aircraft

A U.S. F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the Middle East after getting struck by what’s believed to be Iranian fire.

“This would be the first time Iran has hit a US aircraft (in this case a stealth, 5th generation fighter jet) since the war started. The F-35 was ‘flying a combat mission over Iran’ when it was forced to make an emergency landing, per Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spox for CENTCOM,” CNN reporter Zachary Cohen said.

“The aircraft landed safely, & the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins said.

“This incident is under investigation,” he added.

A US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire, sources tell @halbritz & @OrenCNN.

This would be the first time Iran has hit a US aircraft (in this case a stealth, 5th generation…

— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) March 19, 2026

CNN has more:

Both the US and Israel are flying F-35s in the conflict; the aircraft costs upwards of $100 million.

The US has lost other aircraft in the war thus far, though none known to have been hit by enemy fire. Three US F-15 fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses, with all six crew members ejecting safely. And last week, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, though the cause is still unclear. The US military said the incident was “not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

All six crew members aboard the KC-135 were killed.

“Iranian officials have just released wild new footage claiming it reportedly shows one of its air defense systems successfully hitting an American F-35 fighter jet, which was forced to make an emergency landing,” Rawsalerts wrote.

🚨#BREAKING: Iranian officials have just released wild new footage claiming it reportedly shows one of its air defense systems successfully hitting an American F-35 fighter jet, which was forced to make an emergency landing. pic.twitter.com/7V7TyAuOLB

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 19, 2026

“Iran’s IRGC says it attacked and ‘damaged’ a US f-35 fighter jet,” Al Jazeera noted.

BREAKING: Iran’s IRGC says it attacked and “damaged” a US f-35 fighter jet. US Central Command says a jet was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing.

🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/AcLp73CTgN pic.twitter.com/AiJLwd6cJw

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 19, 2026

The Hill shared further:

The U.S. and Israeli forces have continued striking targets inside Iran, while Tehran has been retaliating with fire against U.S. assets in Gulf states, which have worked to intercept Iranian drones and missiles.

On Monday, Centcom said about 200 U.S. service members have been injured in the conflict with Iran, with the vast majority of them returning to duty. Defense officials have said 13 U.S. service members have been killed since the war started.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. remains “on plan” for its objectives in the conflict but declined to give a firm timeline for when the war could end when asked about it Thursday morning.

What’s your assessment?