Iran shoots down advanced US fighter jets, including second F-35

These interceptions add to a growing list of staggering aviation losses for the US military. On March 11, the IRGC successfully hit a US Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jet in central Iran’s airspace.

Iranian forces shot down two more advanced US fighter jets Friday, including a second F-35, despite US President Donald Trump’s claim of destroying Iran’s air defenses.

In a statement on Friday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that its newly developed and advanced air defenses had shot down a stealth F-35 fighter jet in central Iran.

The downed aircraft belonged to the Lakenheath squadron, it said, adding that the fighter jet was completely destroyed and crashed.

Due to the complete disintegration of the aircraft, the fate of the pilot remains unknown, it noted.

Earlier on Friday, the IRGC announced that another advanced enemy fighter jet was targeted by air defense systems south of Qeshm Island.

The advanced aircraft subsequently crashed between Hengam and Qeshm islands, plummeting “into the depths of the ever-Persian Gulf.”

The downing was a direct rebuke to recent rhetoric from Washington. The IRGC noted that Donald Trump had previously claimed that US forces had destroyed Iran’s air defenses.

“Following the false claim of the liar US President regarding the complete destruction of the IRGC’s air defense, moments ago an advanced enemy fighter jet was hit in the south of Qeshm Island by the modern advanced air defense system of the IRGC Navy, under the control of the country’s integrated air defense network,” the IRGC statement read.

These interceptions add to a growing list of staggering aviation losses for the US military. On March 11, the IRGC successfully hit a US Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jet in central Iran’s airspace.

While US media later confirmed that an F-35 made an emergency landing at a US airbase in West Asia due to what was believed to be Iranian fire, a subsequent report by NPR noted that the heavily damaged aircraft would not be able to resume operations anytime soon.

Iranian armed forces have so far downed two F-35s, one F-18, two F-16s, and four F-15s since the start of the aggression.

The US military has officially confirmed the loss of three US F-15s and one KC-135 tanker during the ongoing war. The Pentagon has continuously attempted to cover up these catastrophic losses, portraying the downings as “friendly fire” or “accidents.”

Recently, the US military even announced the fall of an F-35 in Nevada, an announcement that military experts widely view as a desperate cover story for the loss of stealth fighter jets in the war with Iran.