- US F-35 fighter jet was hit by suspected Iranian fire during a combat mission over Iran
- The aircraft made an emergency landing at a US air base in the Middle East safely
- The pilot is in stable condition, and the incident is currently under investigation
A US F-35 fighter jet was hit by suspected Iranian fire, forcing it to make an emergency landing at an American air base in the Middle East. US Central Command said the fifth-generation stealth jet was "flying a combat mission over Iran" when it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire.
"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.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also claimed it has the US aircraft. The IRGC said the F-35 was hit by air defence systems over central Iran on Thursday.
A video also surfaced, which claimed to show the moment a US stealth fighter was stuck during a combat mission over Iranian airspace. The grainy footage shows an explosion and a smoke trail as the plane veers off course midair.
In a statement, the Iranian Guards said it had "struck and seriously damaged" the aircraft at around 2.50 am (local time) and claimed that there was a "high possibility" it might have crashed.
It would mark the first known instance of Iran hitting one of the US military's most advanced and expensive aircraft in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 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. So far, at least 13 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.
