A U.S. F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing Thursday at an American base in the Middle East after being hit by Iranian fire over Iranian territory, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the incident, saying the aircraft landed safely, the pilot is in stable condition, and the incident is under investigation. This marks the first time Iran has struck a U.S. or Israeli aircraft since the war began.
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(Photo: US AIR FORCE PHOTO and US CENTRAL COMMAND / HANDOUT/AFP)
U.S. aircraft have previously been involved in incidents during the war, including one that killed six American service members. Last week, a U.S. refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq in an incident CENTCOM said involved another aircraft and was not the result of enemy or friendly fire. An initial statement said “U.S. Central Command is conducting recovery operations after a KC-135 refueling aircraft went down. The second aircraft landed safely.”
Six crew members aboard the aircraft were killed in the crash, which is believed to have been caused by a midair collision. The second aircraft involved was also a KC-135 and landed at Ben Gurion Airport after declaring an emergency.
About two and a half weeks ago, on the third day of the war, the U.S. military confirmed that three F-15 jets were mistakenly shot down over Kuwait by “friendly fire.” The Wall Street Journal reported that three missiles mistakenly fired by a Kuwaiti Air Force F/A-18 pilot led to the downing and ejection.
According to a U.S. official, the Kuwaiti jet fired three missiles at the American aircraft. All the planes were lost, but the pilots ejected safely. Footage later circulated showing an F-15 spiraling before crashing to the ground.