U.S. Military Aircraft Losses on the Middle East Battlefield Continue to Rise

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

The report states that U.S. Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins said the fifth-generation stealth fighter was forced to make an emergency landing while "conducting combat operations over Iran." Hawkins stated that the aircraft landed safely, the pilot is stable, and the military is currently investigating the incident.

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

According to a report by Bloomberg on March 19, since the war with Iran began, the U.S. military has lost at least 16 aircraft, including 10 MQ-9 "Reaper" drones destroyed by enemy fire, and another 6 aircraft damaged in attacks or accidents.

The report details the most severe losses: 3 U.S. F-15s were shot down in Kuwait due to friendly fire; 1 KC-135 tanker crashed during refueling operations, resulting in the deaths of all 6 crew members on board.

It is reported that several KC-135 tankers were damaged by Iranian missile strikes while parked at an airport in Saudi Arabia.

According to informed sources, so far only the "Reaper" drones have been shot down by Iranian air defense systems, with at least 9 destroyed in the air. Additionally, another drone was reportedly hit by a ballistic missile at a military base in Jordan.

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

U.S. Central Command stated that an F-35 stealth fighter made an emergency landing at a certain air force base in the Middle East after conducting combat operations on the 19th. The pilot is stable, and the incident is under investigation. The F-35 fighter was introduced about 10 years ago and has been deployed in combat.

Iran is equipped with infrared-guided "358" air defense cruise missiles. This missile uses a small mobile launch system and can strike targets at an altitude of 25,000 feet (approximately 7,620 meters). Because this missile does not rely on radar guidance, aircraft cannot detect that they are being tracked. It has posed a threat to U.S. military assets during military operations in Yemen last year.

In the last large-scale airstrike operation involving U.S. forces (i.e., the 2011 military intervention in Libya), only 3 incidents of combat losses were reported over a 4-month period, one of which was a U.S. drone.

Peter Layton, a retired officer of the Royal Australian Air Force and a visiting scholar at the Griffith Asia Institute, stated that the current combat losses are relatively high, possibly due to the large scale of operations—the U.S. military claims that the number of strikes on the first day of the conflict exceeded those of the "shock and awe" military operations at the start of the 2003 Iraq War.

Layton stated, "The key difference is the significantly increased intensity of operations, with a notable rise in daily sorties."

U.S. Central Command declined to comment, stating that it would not discuss combat loss assessments.

Although Iranian air defense systems were among the first targets of U.S. and Israeli airstrike operations, the goal of completely destroying their air defense capabilities and establishing comprehensive air superiority has not yet been achieved.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kane stated that the U.S. military currently only has localized air superiority, meaning that the U.S. only controls certain specific areas within Iranian airspace.

The downing of the "Reaper" drone also highlights a major difficulty in securing the Strait of Hormuz: any active air defense system significantly increases operational difficulty.

In 2025, the Houthi forces in Yemen shot down several "Reaper" drones. According to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the U.S. military currently operates a total of 225 of this type of drone.

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

Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, stated, "In large-scale, high-intensity, high-pressure combat operations, tragic accidents like those involving KC-135s are difficult to completely avoid."

As the war enters its third week, Iran continues to launch strikes in the region. However, U.S. Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth stated that since the outbreak of the conflict, the number of Iranian attacks has decreased by about 90%.

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