On Thursday, March 19, 2026, CNN, citing sources, reported that a Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II multirole aircraft of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) made an emergency landing at one of its bases following an alleged Iranian attack.
Photo: One of the F-35A aircraft currently operating in the Middle East, published on March 17 / Photo: CENTCOM
According to CNN, citing two sources familiar with the matter, an F-35A made an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the Middle East after being struck by what is believed to have been an Iranian surface-to-air missile.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said the aircraft was flying a combat mission over Iran when it was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing.
“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. “This incident is under investigation.”
If it is confirmed that the emergency landing resulted from an Iranian attack, this would mark the first time in history that an F-35 has been hit by an adversary in combat conditions.
According to available sources, the United States has deployed around 50 fifth-generation F-35 aircraft in the Middle East, including more than 30 F-35As operated by the USAF and several F-35Cs aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). Israeli F-35I Adir aircraft are also conducting combat operations; on March 4, one reportedly achieved the first-ever air-to-air victory by an F-35, downing an Iranian Yak-130.
So far, the United States has lost three F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft (following a friendly-fire incident involving a Kuwaiti F/A-18 Hornet) and a single KC-135 Stratotanker (in an accident after a mid-air collision with another tanker).
UPDATE
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has released video footage of the attack on the F-35A. According to the statement, the aircraft was hit at 2:50 a.m. local time.
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
