F-35 hit by suspected Iranian fire marks first reported strike on US aircraft
- Aircraft landed safely at a US base; pilot reported in stable condition.
- Comes amid ongoing conflict involving US-Israel offensive against Iran.
- Several US aircraft losses reported, though none previously linked to Iran fire.
A US F-35 stealth warplane was hit by suspected Iranian fire and made an emergency landing at an American air base in the Middle East, US media reported on Thursday.
“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement, without confirming the reports from outlets including ABC and CNN.
“This incident is under investigation,” Hawkins added.
The United States has lost multiple aircraft during the conflict — including three F-15s mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti forces, and a KC-135 refuelling aircraft that crashed in Iraq — but none that are known to have been hit by Iranian fire.
The United States and Israel launched a massive air campaign against Iran following a major buildup of US military forces — including F-35s — in the region.
Thirteen US service members have been killed since the start of the operation on February 28: six in the KC-135 crash and seven in Iranian attacks early in the war.
Around 200 US military personnel have also been wounded in seven countries across the Middle East since the start of the war, most of whom have already returned to duty, according to the US military.
Meanwhile, a US official and three other people familiar with the planning told Reuters that Trump was considering sending thousands more US troops to the Middle East as a war that has so far killed more than 2,000 people continued to rage.
But on Thursday, Trump said he had no plans to deploy ground forces. “I’m not putting troops anywhere,” he said.
Netanyahu later on Thursday said that Israel acted alone in the bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field and confirmed that Trump asked Israel to hold off on such attacks.
Iran is being “decimated” and no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles after 20 days of US-Israeli air attacks, but a revolution in the country would not come from the air and would require a “ground component,” he said, without elaborating.
As the Israeli leader spoke, Iran launched a new wave of missiles toward his country, according to Israel’s military and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
