MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. American F-35 fighter jets look to have failed the "stress test" in the Middle East conflict, said Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).
Iran reported shooting down an F-35 fighter jet over the central regions of the Islamic Republic this morning. The IRGC discovered and detained the pilot, according to NourNews agency.
"Now, for the first time in history, the F-35 is facing a stress test in real combat use. And not only the F-35, but also the key elements of the US military air component, which, apparently, do not pass this test at this historical stage," Stepanov told TASS.
"This is the first time in a long time that American pilots have been captured."
This points to the lack of air supremacy, poor planning of aviation and precision weapons use, Stepanov noted.
"In other words, we see that the missile defense system deployed by Iran, which has allegedly been destroyed several times, is still effective, according to official statements from both the United States and Israel. And with a high degree of probability, the key to this success lies, among other things, in the high level of military-technical cooperation between Iran and Russia and China," Stepanov said.
However, Axios portal said that the wreckage of the downed American military aircraft demonstrated by Iran's state media could belong to an F-15 fighter jet.