A US Air Force F-35 made an emergency landing at a US base in the Middle East after taking damage during a combat mission over Iran, according to US Central Command. The pilot was said to be in “stable condition,” and the incident remains under investigation.
The Wall Street Journal reported on March 19, 2026, that the stealth fighter was forced to land after the mission, citing CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins. The F-35 reportedly made the emergency landing at a regional base in the Middle East after completing a combat run over Iran. The report did not identified the base.
Reuters reported the F-35 was “damaged during a combat mission.” The news agency did not specify the cause of the damage, and US officials had not publicly confirmed by March 19 whether the aircraft was hit by enemy fire.
Several reports suggested the fighter may have been struck by Iranian fire, but the incident was under investigation. If true, it would be the first aerial combat damage suffered by any US aircraft during the Iranian conflict, and the first combat damage of an F-35 to be publicly reported.
The incident came as US officials said military operations against Iran were ramping up. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said US objectives in the conflict had not changed since the start of strikes on February 28. He said the Pentagon had struck more than 7,000 targets in Iran and that 13 American troops had been killed and about 200 wounded so far in the war.
The F-35 emergency landing is the latest reported aircraft incident tied to the conflict. It follows the March 12 crash of a US KC-135 refueling aircraft in Iraq that killed six service members. US Central Command said that crash was not the result of hostile fire.
US officials had not released additional details on the F-35’s condition, the extent of the damage or when the aircraft might return to service. As of March 19, the most detailed public statements established that the jet had flown a combat mission over Iran, suffered damage serious enough to force an emergency landing, and returned with the pilot alive. The source of that damage had not been publicly confirmed.
