At long last, the F-35 has scored its first true air-to-air kill in the aircraft’s history during Operation Epic Fury. A squadron of F-35s reportedly took down multiple MiG-29s soon after the strikes against Iran took place, marking a pivotal moment for the new family of jets.
U.S. F-35s intercepted and shot down a group of Iranian MiG-29s that launched from Mazariyeh Air Base at the outset of the strikes.
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 28, 2026
Hope to get footage soon.
how the Iranian MiG-29 pilots are looking at their commanding officers right now pic.twitter.com/ocQ8t2lVsu
— ☉rthonormalist🧭✡️ (@orthonormalist) February 28, 2026
Imagine being the dude in this Mig-29, aimlessly flying around waiting to be shot down by an American jet you’ll never know was there.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) February 28, 2026
pic.twitter.com/Ck519IbXQg
BREAKING: US F35s hunted and shot down a number of Iranian Mig-29 fighter jets that launched when strikes begun.
— WarMonitor🇺🇦🇬🇧 (@WarMonitor3) February 28, 2026
The F-35 had yet to score a kill against an adversary aircraft, with both American and Israeli operators only having used them to target drones up to this point. No footage of the fight has been released to date, and it is unclear how many MiGs the F-35s have eliminated.
The F-35 is equipped with the latest and greatest air-to-air missiles, with some variants, like the AIM-120 family, able to engage targets up to an estimated 100 miles away. The unlucky MiG-29s may not even have known that they were being targeted.
The iconic F-22 Raptor still hasn’t managed to score a kill, but we will see if that changes as Operation Fury carries on over the next few days. Let's just hope that the Iranians let their F-14s die a dignified death.
The F14s… are they safe? https://t.co/UvJ9zlb9Fs pic.twitter.com/y0U2Spiocr
— Aetius (@AetiusRF) February 28, 2026