A US-Israeli F-35 stealth fighter was forced to make an emergency landing after being struck in mid-air over Iranian airspace during Operation Epic Fury. US Central Command confirmed the incident, which marks the first time this specific aircraft model has been damaged during active service.

How the 358 and 359 loitering munitions bypass F-35 stealth

The F-35 is designed to be invisible to long-range radar, but according to foreign correspondent Chris Pleasance in a report by the Daily Mail,Iranian forces utilized a different approach . The 358 and 359 projectiles are not tradiional missiles but "loitering munitions"—hybrids between drones and missiles that fly to a specific area and orbit in a figure-of-eight pattern.

Rather than relying on radar, these munitions use infrared (IR) seekers to scan for heat signatures. Because the F-35, despite its stealth coating, still generates heat from its engines, it remains visible to these sensors. The 358 model is a compact nine-foot projectile capable of 400mph, while the larger 359 can reach 600mph and ascend to 30,000 feet, making them lethal threats to high-performance aircraft.

The $750 million toll of 24 downed Reaper drones

The effectiveness of these Iranian loitering munitions has already been demonstrated against slower targets. As reported by the Daily Mail, the United States has lost 24 Reaper drones since hostilities began in Iran, resulting in a financial loss exceeding $750 million. An additional 13 Reapers were reportedly downed during an American bombing campaign in the Islamic Republic the previous year.

The vulnerability of the MQ-9 Reaper stems from its slow speed and tendency to loiter over battlefields, providing the 358 munitions ample time to lock on. While the F-35 is significantly faster, the shift from radar-guided to heat-seeking loitering tactics suggests that speed and stealth are no longer absolute guarantees of safety in contested airspace.

Iranian technology and the $50 million Apache threat in Yemen

The proliferation of this technology extends beyond Iran's borders to its regional proxies. The Daily Mail reports that Iran has supplied these munitions to the Houthis in Yemen, where the 359 model is rumored to have damaged an Apache helicopter. Given that a single Apache is valued at approximately $50 million, the ability of a relatively cheap loitering munition to disable such hardware represents a significant asymmetric advantage.

This trend indicates a strategic shift where low-cost, autonomous seekers are used to target high-value assets. By deploying these systems via truck-mounted rails, Iranian-backed forces can create "danger zones" where aircraft are hunted by heat-seekers rather than tracked by traditional air-defense batteries.

The mystery of the KC-135 Stratotanker collision over Iran

While the F-35 strike is now confirmed, other losses during the conflict remain shrouded in ambiguity. A US KC-135 Stratotanker was lost over Iran in an event that appeared to be a collsoin between two refueling aircraft. However, the underlying cause of that collision remains an open question.

Military analysts are weighing whether the crash was a result of simple turbulence or if it was precipitated by the presence of Iranian loitering munitions. If the 358 or 359 systems were active in the area, the resulting evasive maneuvers could have triggered the fatal collision, though this remains unverified. It is also currently unclear if the F-35 pilot's emergency landing was caused by a direct warhead detonation or a kinetic impact from a smaller munition.