US F-35 Fighter Jet Makes Emergency Landing After Being Hit by Iranian Ground Fire

An American F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at an U.S. airbase in the Middle East after being struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire during a combat mission over Iran.

Two Pentagon sources familiar with the incident told CNN that the aircraft made the landing on March 19 after being hit.

U.S. Central Command later confirmed the incident, stating the aircraft landed safely, with the pilot in stable condition.

This is the first time that Iran has hit an American aircraft with surface-to-air munitions since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28.

The F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter jet, costs over $100 million, and is one of the most advanced aircraft in service. Both the United States and Israel have been flying them in combat sorties over Iran.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said the F-35 was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing.

“The aircraft landed safely, & the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins said, adding: “This incident is under investigation.”

CNN reported that the F-35 took fire from Iranian forces, but the Pentagon has been scant on further details.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for hitting the jet, stating that it severely damaged the F-35 using an advanced air defense system, but the Pentagon has not confirmed the extent of the damage.

Despite the F-35 incident, President Donald Trump told reporters this morning that Iranian anti-aircraft defenses were eliminated and added: "

Nobody is even shooting at us."

The U.S. has lost at least four manned aircraft so far in the conflict with Iran, with none known to have been hit by enemy fire.

Three US F-15 fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses shortly the start of the war on March 1 in what the Pentagon described as a '"friendly fire" incident, with all six crew members ejecting safely.

On March 13, an American KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq under unclear circumstances, killing all six crew members on board.

The Pentagon said that the incident was “not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

At least 13 U.S. service personnel have died since Operation Epic Fury began.

Six U.S. Army reservists were killed in an attack on Kuwait’s Shuaiba port on March 1, while another service member died after sustaining injuries during an attack in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.

The White House's top war objectives include degrading Iran's missile capabilities, removing the Iranian regime from power, and eliminating its nuclear program.

The Trump Administration is claiming further military progress in its operations against Iran.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated at a press conference Thursday that the U.S. military is “winning decisively” and "controls the fate" of Iran.

Many of Tehran's top political and military leaders have already been eliminated by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, which has been a main priority for Washington and Tel Aviv.

Hegseth described Iran’s air defenses as having been “flattened." He added that Iranian leadership has "the ability to make the right choices" and that Tehran "should not, going forward, target Arab allies, Arab countries, trying to create pain, the pain that they created themselves.”

He suggested that more leaders could be targeted, specifically those running the IRGC and Basij Force, the internal security militia whose commander was killed by Israel earlier this week. "

The last job anyone in the world wants right now, senior leader for the IRGC or Basij, temp jobs, all of them," Hegseth said.

CNN further reported that a Marine Expeditionary Unit was heading to the region for potential ground operations on Iran's coastline along the Persian Gulf.

A Pentagon official confirmed that the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit stationed in Okinawa and the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group were being sent to the region.

The USS Tripoli was spotted approaching Singapore towards the Indian Ocean earlier this week.

Meanwhile, one civilian vessel was hit by the Iranians off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and a second was damaged off Qatar.

An Iranian drone just hit a Saudi refinery on the Red Sea, which Riyadh was using as an alternative exit route for oil exports, while another damaged Israel's Haifa refinery, the country’s primary fuel facility, which supplies about 50% to 60% of the nation's fuel.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said that the electricity grid in northern Israel sustained some damage but that work crews had restored electricity to some areas and were working to restore it in others.

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani announced that the IDF struck Iranian targets in the Caspian Sea for the first time, hitting dozens of targets, including ships, a shipyard and a command center.

Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant complex was also hit, with no injuries or damage being reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

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