Posted on 03/19/2026 7:56:33 PM PDT by Trump20162020
A US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, said the fifth-generation stealth jet was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing. Hawkins said the aircraft landed safely and the incident is under investigation.
“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. “This incident is under investigation.”
The incident would be the first time Iran has hit a US aircraft in the war started in late February. Both the US and Israel are flying F-35s in the conflict; the aircraft costs upwards of $100 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
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Considering the wider picture of these things. If this is noteworthy, I would consider this good news.
the CNN traitors are always on the lookout for anything that can be used as bad news.
Where are they getting “probable fire”.
It probably hit a bird.
I thought the F35s were nearly ‘invisible’; how’d it get hit?
This is the most logical explanation
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut now and then.
CC
[I thought the F35s were nearly ‘invisible’; how’d it get hit?]
This reminded me of the F-35 that malfunctioned while landing on December 15, 2022 AD, at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.
There was a viral video of the plane hopping on the ground and the pilot ejecting at zero altitude.
“I thought the F35s were nearly ‘invisible’; how’d it get hit?”
They have limited stealth, mostly from the front aspect, if they are not carrying external weapons or stores.
But, but, but, I heard that we controlled the skies over Iran. Probably just a minor miscommunication.
That would imply that the pilot had been injured - else he would have said, "The pilot is unharmed."
Regards,
Thermal imagery It’s puts off a ton of heat
A number of possibilities.
When it opened weapons bay doors, it loses much of it's stealthiness and triggered barrage fire.
If it was targeted optically... silhouetted/illuminated in some manner, a missile could be directly guided to it.
A spec-ops team on the ground may have gotten in trouble and it had to get down low for a strafing run at which point it could be heard/seen which triggered barrage fire.
Many thanks for the clarification.
JAMBOG!
US F-35 damaged by suspected Iranian fire makes emergency landing, sources say
03/19/2026 1:45:07 PM PDT · by Mariner · 33 replies
CNN via Yahoo ^ | March 19th, 2026 | Haley Britzky and Oren Liebermann
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4371342/posts
Exact same story from exact same source, albeit in the first case reposted on Yahoo.
And the search function still works.
Thanks.
I think the F3-5 is a marvelous machine--part super plane, part AWAC-- but I never could get my head around using it for close air support. That's like taking a Ferrari off road.
Leave that to the F-15s and A-10s.
I thought the F35s were nearly ‘invisible’; how’d it get hit?
—
the only jet with the RCS of a marble is the F-22. The F-35 is only partially stealthy head on. Other than that, it can be “seen”.
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