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LF-35s that participated in US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities flew deep into its airspace.
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The fighter jets escorted the B-2 stealth bombers and were the last to leave Iranian airspace.
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Commanders involved in Operation Midnight Hammer said the mission validated the capabilities of the F-35.
The US F-35 stealth fighters that participated in the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iran flew hundreds of miles deep into its airspace and were the last to emerge, US military commanders revealed this week.
F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing based in Utah escorted the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers that dropped a dozen heavy bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities in late June.
LF-35s suppressed Iran’s air defenses and opened the way for other combat aircraft, including the seven B-2s, during the complex night operation.
“We flew hundreds of miles into Iran, escorting B-2s all the way,” Lt. Colonel Aaron Osborne, commander of the 34th Fighter Squadron, shared in US Air Force history. “We used the weapons to great effect against multiple surface-to-air missile sites.”
After the B-2s dropped a total of 14 bunker-buster bombs – 30,000-pound munitions called GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators – on Iranian nuclear facilities, the F-35s protected their exit from the attack zone.
Advanced US fighter jets were the last of the Iranian airspace, the 388th Fighter Wing said on Monday, sharing new details about the operation. US officials said Tehran did not fire on any US aircraft during Midnight Hammer.
Airmen of the 388th Fighter Wing, based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, train almost daily for suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) missions, the military said.
LF-35s flying in support of Midnight Hammer escorted the B-2s through Iranian airspace.US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nicholas Paczkowski
F-35 pilots can use the jet’s advanced stealth, radar, targeting systems and sensors to identify surface-to-air missile threats, as they did in Iran.
The F-35 fighter, built by US defense giant Lockheed Martin, has been battle-tested against a wide range of threats in a mix of engagements since its first flight nearly 20 years ago — from wars in the Middle East to Israeli penetrating attacks inside Iran to the downing of Russian drones on NATO territory. The jet is flown by militaries around the world, including many NATO allies.
While the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is considered the best fifth-generation fighter jet, it is also the world’s most expensive weapons program, with a lifetime cost of $2 trillion, and has faced sustainability and maintenance challenges in recent years, prompting several Trump allies to publicly criticize the plane and its capabilities.
And tensions earlier this year between the Trump administration and some European allies also raised questions about and even appeared to threaten future sales of the stealth jet.
However, Midnight Hammer commanders praised the F-35 and said that its participation in the operation highlights its combat capability.
“The effectiveness of this strike validated all the capabilities of the F-35 that we have been talking about for years – stealth, lethality, sensor-fusion, which is a force multiplier,” said Col. Charles Fallon, commander of the 388th Fighter Wing.
He said the operation relied on F-35 pilots and their aircraft to perform, “and both proved more than capable.”
US forces hit three Iranian nuclear facilities — specifically Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — with 75 precision weapons during Operation Midnight Hammer, which took place amid a wider war between Iran and Israel. US officials said the ammunition included bunker-busters and dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Beyond the F-35s and the B-2s, the American F-22 fighter jets, as well as the F-15s and the F-16s, and dozens of aerial refueling tankers participated in the surprise operation, along with US Navy missile submarines.
Read the original article on Business Insider