The F-35 is not invulnerable

A US F-35 was damaged by Iranian fire during a combat mission over Iran and made an emergency landing at a base in the Middle East. The IRGC published footage of the incident. It is the first time in history that an F-35 has been struck by enemy fire in combat.

The data point matters beyond the incident itself. The F-35 Lightning II is the most expensive combat aircraft ever produced, with a unit cost of between $80 and $100 million depending on the variant. Its principal advantage is stealth technology, designed to render it virtually invisible to enemy radar. That Iranian air defences, degraded by 80% according to Israel, managed to hit one suggests the degradation is not total, or that Iran retains systems capable of detecting and damaging fifth-generation aircraft under certain conditions.

The United States has carried out more than 7,800 strikes since February 28 and damaged or destroyed over 120 Iranian vessels. American and Israeli air superiority is not in question. But the invulnerability of the F-35 was an article of faith in Western defence doctrine, and that article has just been broken. Every future adversary evaluating air defence purchases will take note. And every government considering buying F-35s will too.