Reference News Network, March 22 report: According to the CNN website on March 19, according to two sources, a U.S. F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a U.S. military base in the Middle East after allegedly being hit by Iranian fire.

The report stated that Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command, said that the fifth-generation stealth fighter was forced to make an emergency landing while "carrying out combat missions over Iran." Hawkins said the aircraft had safely landed, the pilot's condition was stable, and the military was currently investigating the incident.

If true, this would be the first time since the conflict broke out at the end of February that Iran has hit a U.S. manned military aircraft. Both the United States and Israel have deployed F-35 fighters in this conflict, with each aircraft costing over $100 million.

According to another report from Bloomberg News on March 19, since the war with Iran began, the U.S. military has lost at least 16 military aircraft, including 10 MQ-9 "Reaper" drones destroyed by enemy fire, and six other aircraft damaged in attacks or accidents.

The report stated that the most serious losses included three U.S. F-15 fighter jets crashing after being mistakenly hit by friendly fire in Kuwait; one KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed during a refueling operation, killing all six crew members aboard.

It is also reported that several KC-135 refueling aircraft were damaged in an Iranian missile attack while parked at an airport in Saudi Arabia.

According to informed sources, so far only the "Reaper" drones were shot down by Iran's air defense system, with at least nine of them destroyed in the air. According to informed sources, one of them was hit by a ballistic missile at an airbase in Jordan.

Two more "Reaper" drones were lost due to accidents. This type of drone is designed as a "disposable" asset—because it does not require a pilot and its replacement cost is much lower than that of manned military aircraft, it can perform missions in high-risk areas.

The U.S. Central Command said that on March 19, a F-35 stealth fighter made an emergency landing at a U.S. airbase in the Middle East after carrying out combat missions. The pilot's condition was stable, and the incident is under investigation. The F-35 was introduced about ten years ago and has been deployed in combat.

Iran is equipped with the "358" infrared-guided air defense loitering missile. This missile uses a small mobile launch unit and can strike targets at a height of 25,000 feet (approximately 7,620 meters). Because this missile does not rely on radar guidance, aircraft cannot detect it being tracked. In last year's military operations in Yemen, this missile has already posed a threat to U.S. military assets.

In the previous large-scale air strike operation in which the U.S. participated (i.e., the military intervention in Libya in 2011), only three combat losses were reported within four months, one of which was a U.S. drone.

Peter Leighton, a retired officer of the Royal Australian Air Force and visiting scholar at the Griffith Asia Institute, said that the current level of losses is relatively high, possibly due to the large scale of the operation—U.S. forces claimed that the number of strikes launched on the first day of the conflict exceeded the "Shock and Awe" military operation at the start of the 2003 Iraq War.

Leighton said, "The key difference lies in the significant increase in the intensity of operations, with a substantial rise in the daily number of sorties."

The U.S. Central Command refused to comment, stating that it would not discuss damage assessments.

Although Iran's air defense systems were among the first targets of the U.S. and Israeli air raids, the goal of completely destroying its air defense capabilities and establishing full air superiority has not yet been achieved to date.

General Dan Kean, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the U.S. currently only has partial air superiority, meaning that the U.S. controls certain specific areas within Iranian airspace.

The downing of the "Reaper" drone also highlights a major difficulty in opening the Strait of Hormuz: any existing air defense system would significantly complicate the operation.

In 2025, the Houthi rebels in Yemen shot down multiple "Reaper" drones. According to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the U.S. currently has 225 of these drones in service.

Losses of aircraft due to accidents are not uncommon in high-intensity combat operations. In 2024, the U.S. military mistakenly shot down its own aircraft in the Middle East.

Justin Bloxham, a senior researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK, said, "In large-scale, high-intensity, high-pressure combat operations, tragic accidents like the loss of a KC-135 are difficult to completely avoid."

As the war enters its third week, Iran continues to carry out attacks in the region. However, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the number of Iranian attacks has declined by about 90% since the conflict began.

Israeli and Western assessments indicate that approximately 60% of Iran's missile launchers have been destroyed, but this figure has not changed much since the beginning of the war. (Translated by Yang Xuelai, Wu Mei)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7619958456128209408/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.