Pending deals, proposed orders for the US manufactured F35 stealth fighter Jet could be revised following it’s recent real-time humiliating combat performance on the battlefield in Iran.
In real time combat recently, the U$100million F35 fighter Jet was shot down by an Iranian U$10,000 Qassem Bassir medium-range ballistic missile.
Iran becomes the first country to shoot down the US sky monster the F-35.
The troublesome missile was produced by the Iranians in 2025. It has a range of about 1,200 km, and features enhanced guidance and countermeasure resistance.
The two-stage solid fuel powered missile launched on a road mobile platform has an Inertial navigation and electro-optical/infrared terminal seeker.
“Iranians have successfully locked in on the F35 telemetry and it’s heat signature,” an Iranian arms specialist said.
He added that with such information in the hands of Iranian engineers, “they will effectively sell it to their allies including Chinese and Russians.”
Previously the F35 fighter Jet has been touted as American crown jewel in the sky. It’s stealthiness made adversaries extremely worried and fearful that the Jet would operate without any ability to bring it down.
According to US manufacturer the F-35 achieves stealth through a combination of, primarily, its airframe shaping designed to deflect radar waves, radar-absorbent materials (RAM) that scatter radar signals, and an internal weapons bay that eliminates radar-reflective external stores.
It also features reduced engine infrared signatures and advanced electronic warfare tools to disrupt detection.
To avoid detection, the F-35 carries weapons and fuel internally, avoiding the external protrusions that make traditional aircraft easy to spot on radar.
Iran has been engulfed in sanctions since 1979 but they have successfully proved that they can locally mobilize and counter advanced Western technology with too cheap home made systems.
According to Iranian sources, the Qassem Basir has previously been launched against multiple strategic targets in Tel Aviv and Bat Yam, with Tehran claiming the strikes resulted in high-impact damage and multiple casualties.
“Iran’s use of the Qassem Basir signals not just a tactical strike, but a strategic message—it is a missile built to slip past layered Western missile defence networks with alarming reliability,” a senior missile warfare expert based in the region told Defence Security Asia.
The End of F-35 Chapter
No advantage lasts forever.The F-35 was simply the latest chapter and never the end of the cycle.
A new chapter has begun—one where stealth is no longer a guarantee, where detection is becoming more sophisticated, and where dominance must once again be earned under changing conditions.
The shootdown of an F-35 does not end American airpower. But it does redefine the environment in which that power must now operate.
