A U.S. Air Force F-35A fighter was forced to divert from a combat mission over Iran and make an emergency landing at an undisclosed U.S. airbase in the Middle East, the Pentagon has confirmed to TWZ. At this stage, details of the incident are very scarce, but there are meanwhile unconfirmed reports, and a video, suggesting that the jet was struck by Iranian fire. The video in question, if true, indicates a system was used that we have repeatedly highlighted as a top threat to allied aircraft, including stealthy ones, operating over Iran.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, told TWZ that the F-35 was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing.
“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. “This incident is under investigation.”
The U.S. Air Force has deployed F-35As from multiple units in support of Operation Epic Fury, while carrier-capable F-35C versions from the U.S. Marine Corps have been operating from the supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Hawkins confirmed to us that a U.S. Air Force jet was involved.
The Israeli Air Force additionally operates a version of the jet, the F-35I Adir, which has also been used in combat against Iran.
According to a report from CNN, which cites two unnamed sources familiar with the matter, it is thought that the F-35 may have been hit by Iranian fire.
Hawkins declined to comment to TWZ about whether the aircraft was hit by hostile fire.
There have been reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released the video below, which claims to show the F-35 being hit over Iran, as seen through a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system, but this cannot be independently verified.
As far as we know, there have been no previous confirmed incidents of U.S. aircraft having been struck by Iranian air defenses since the conflict began at the end of last month. Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were lost, but these fell to Kuwaiti friendly fire in an incident that remains puzzling. At the same time, some kind of friendly-fire incident cannot be ruled out on this occasion, too.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker that was taking part in Epic Fury crashed in Iraq, for reasons that remain unclear.
As we have discussed in our previous reporting, the skies of the Middle East are far from completely safe for U.S. and Israeli air operations.
An Israeli Air Force fighter was “almost shot down” over Iran, early on in the conflict, The Times of Israel has reported, citing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
According to the IDF, an attempt was made to shoot down the jet, and it was “close to being hit.”
The Israeli military further claims that the attempted shootdown “failed due to the alertness and professionalism of the pilot,” the military says, adding that the sortie “was completed successfully.”
For all the defense-suppression missions that have been flown, Iran still possesses road-mobile air defenses as well as more exotic types that can pop up virtually anywhere and give aircrews very little time to react. These systems can be easily hidden and will remain a threat on the battlefield long after static air defenses are destroyed. Beyond that, there are man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), which, while less of a menace in terms of outright performance and engagement envelopes, are impossible to entirely remove from the battlespace.
The reality is that, even for the F-35, there are risks, especially as the air campaign moves more toward direct attacks, bringing aircraft closer to potential threats. While the U.S. has claimed air supremacy over Iran, it certainly does not yet possess it across the entire country.
As we pointed out in our recent analysis:
Moving to a direct attack-focused campaign comes with new risks. This is especially true when it comes to facing road-mobile air defenses and more exotic types that can pop up virtually anywhere and give aircrews very little time to react. These systems can be hidden pretty much anywhere and will be present on the battlefield long after fixed air defenses are completely destroyed. Electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) surface-to-air missile systems are especially vexing, as U.S. fourth-generation fighter aircraft would have no idea they were being attacked until they are struck, unless they visibly see the missile launch and head their way. These aircraft lack missile approach warning systems. The F-22 and F-35 benefit from different versions of this capability. EO/IR SAM systems are also not affected by radiofrequency jamming, unless they use a radar for initial targeting.
Speaking today, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters: “We’re flying further to the east now and penetrating deeper into Iranian airspace to hunt and kill one-way attack drone garrisons, destroying Iran’s ability to project power outside of its borders.”
Flying further east in Iran brings more threats, compared to the more-sanitized airspace in the west.
Again, as we warned in the past:
Underestimating Iran’s ability to target and destroy coalition aircraft would be a perilous move. Even the improvised systems cobbled together by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, as well as their hodgepodge of other air defenses, have taken their toll on advanced fighter aircraft operated by Gulf Arab states and challenged even the most advanced fighters in the U.S. inventory. Iran’s capabilities, even in a deeply degraded state, far exceed those of the Houthis.
U.S.-operated F-35s have, at times, run the gauntlet against the relatively primitive air defense threat offered by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Iran.
Last year, a U.S. official told TWZ that one of the stealth fighters had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit by Houthi surface-to-air missiles. “They got close enough that the [F-35] had to maneuver,” the official said. Meanwhile, an Air Force F-16 pilot was awarded the Silver Star Medal after dodging multiple surface-to-air missiles during operations against the Houthi rebels.
In fact, as you can read about here, the particular nature of Houthi air defenses appears to have prompted an increase in the use of stealthy aircraft like the F-35, in turn, exposing them to unconventional threats. If the same thing may now have happened in Iran, it should hardly come as a surprise.
Provided that the published video of the claimed shootdown is the real deal, that would point to the real possibility that the jet was targeted by a passive sensor, the same kind we repeatedly warned about. The footage looks very similar to that showing Houthi air defense equipment of this kind in action. As we noted in our analysis posted earlier in this story, passive systems can give off no radio emissions, making them especially hazardous to aircrew.
It should be recalled that, at this point, we are still awaiting confirmation on exactly what led the F-35A to declare an emergency. TWZ continues to reach out to CENTCOM for more details about the incident.
We will continue to update this developing story.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com