F-35 | Pakistan

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Thursday that it had struck and “seriously damaged” a US F-35 fighter jet over central Iran. In a statement, the IRGC said the aircraft was hit by its air defence systems at around 2:50am (local time) on Thursday (2320GMT Wednesday night), adding that “a US F-35 fighter jet was struck and seriously damaged” over central Iran. It added that “the fate of the aircraft remains unknown and is under investigation,” noting there is a “high possibility” that the jet may have crashed. The IRGC also said the operation came “following the successful interception of more than 125 US-Israeli drones,” adding that the incident “reflects significant and targeted improvements in the country’s integrated air defence systems.” The US military, meanwhile, said in a statement that a US F-35 aircraft conducted an emergency landing after flying a combat mission over Iran. The military said the pilot was in stable condition. A US official, speaking on the condition of anonym...

United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is considering agreeing to a deal to supply Saudi Arabia with F-35 stealth fighter jets, which are made by Lockheed Martin. “They wanna buy a lot of jets,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I’m looking at that. They’ve asked me to look at it. They want to buy a lot of ‘35’ — but they want to buy actually more than that, fighter jets.” The potential sale comes as Trump plans to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House next week, when they are expected to sign economic and defence agreements. Asked about the talks, Trump told reporters it was “more than meeting, we’re honouring” Saudi Arabia. He repeated that he hoped Saudi Arabia would soon join the Abraham Accords, which have normalised relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations. Riyadh has resisted such a step absent agreement on a roadmap to Palestinian statehood. A Pentagon intelligence report has raised concerns over the potential F-35 deal, warning that ...

The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two sources familiar with the matter said. A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal earlier this year to US President Donald Trump and has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter, one of the people and a US official said. The Pentagon is now weighing a potential sale of 48 of the advanced aircraft, the US official and the person familiar with the talks told Reuters. The size of the request and its status have not been previously reported. The US official and a second US official, who acknowledged the weapons deal was moving through the system, said no final decision has been made and...