- A U.S. F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on February 3, 2026.
- U.S. Central Command confirmed the drone was aggressively approaching the aircraft carrier and was destroyed in self-defense.
- This incident followed an earlier attempt by Iranian fast attack craft to seize a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
- These events mark a significant escalation of U.S.-Iran tensions in the Persian Gulf amid ongoing diplomatic efforts.
- Analysts suggest these actions represent Iranian probing operations to test U.S. naval reactions and demonstrate regional capabilities.
F-35C Downs Iranian Drone Near Carrier
A U.S. F-35C fighter jet dramatically shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone aggressively approaching the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on February 3, 2026. This incident, confirmed as self-defense by U.S. Central Command, marks a significant escalation of U.S.-Iran tensions following an earlier Iranian attempt to seize a U.S.-flagged tanker.
Report an issue with this article
Please sign in to report issues with this article.
Live discussion about this article
Comments
Comments are disabled for this article.
Research Sources
1This article was researched using 1 verified sources through AI-powered web grounding • 0 of 1 sources cited (0.0% citation rate)
