An Iranian Shahed-139 drone was shot down by a U.S. F-35C as it approached the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
An Iranian drone was shot down by the U.S. military on Feb. 3, 2026, according to a U.S. official cited by Reuters. The unmanned aircraft, a Shahed-139, was flying towards the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as it was sailing in the Arabian Sea, prompting the intercept.
The official specified that an F-35 Lightning II was scrambled to intercept the drone, and later shot it down. The USS Lincoln is currently assigned Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, which includes among its squadrons the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, flying the F-35C.
Details about the shootdown are currently unknown, and it is unclear how close the drone came to the ship and if it was carrying weapons.
Shahed-139
The Shahed-139 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Iran, which presents many visual similarities with the U.S.-made MQ-1 Predator. It features a conventional fuselage, rear-mounted pusher propeller, and straight wings optimized for long-endurance surveillance and strike missions.
Images released by state media have shown the drone of carries an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor and possibly a small radar. There are no photos of the aircraft carrying weapons, however, considering that the aircraft is a further development of the Shahed-129 armed drone, it is believed that the Shahed-139 might be able to carry a weapon payload of four missiles.
This is a developing story, we will update the article as more details emerge.
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