‘Black day for US, Israeli air forces’: Iran downs 2 fighter jets, 2 missiles, 3 drones in single day

Iranian armed forces announced that its air defense forces downed at least two fighter jets and five drones and missiles on Friday, describing it as a "black day" for the American and Israeli air forces.

In a statement released Saturday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) public relations wing detailed a series of successful interceptions across multiple Iranian provinces.

The IRGC's Aerospace Defense Force fighters successfully hunted and destroyed two cruise missiles in the skies of Khomein and Zanjan, according to the statement.

Additionally, two MQ-9 attack drones were shot down in the skies of Isfahan, and one Hermes drone was destroyed in the skies of Bushehr.

The IRGC said these interceptions were carried out using its new advanced air defense system, operating under the control of the country's integrated air defense network.

In a separate and particularly significant engagement, the IRGC's Aerospace Defense Force successfully destroyed an advanced enemy fighter jet in central Iran.

The hunt for the missing pilot continues with reports that he failed to eject safely.

Also on Friday, Iran's Army announced that the Islamic Republic's integrated air defense network downed an American A-10 Warthog warplane over the country's southern waters near the Strait of Hormuz.

The Army stated that the targeted aircraft "was tracked and engaged by the Army Air Defense Force's systems, and subsequently crashed into the waters of the Persian Gulf."

The IRGC statement warned that Iran's air defenses are becoming increasingly formidable as the war imposed on the Islamic Republic by the American-Israeli coalition continues.

"With the continued innovative, sustained, and precise monitoring by Iran's air defense heroes, the skies of Iran will become increasingly unsafe for the fighter jets of the aggressor enemy," the statement read.

Iranian armed forces continue to carry out retaliatory military operations against the United States and the Israeli regime in response to the aggression against the country, particularly the civilian infrastructure in different provinces.

On Friday, the IRGC and the Iranian Army carried out multiple attacks as part of Operation True Promise 4, which was launched immediately after the US-Israeli coalition carried out an unprovoked act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28.

Iranian armed forces have so far carried out 93 waves of missile and drone strikes with advanced weaponry targeting Israeli military facilities in the occupied territories, as well as US occupation bases and assets scattered across the West Asia region.

On March 19, Iran achieved what no country had before: a successful engagement against the US Air Force’s crown jewel, the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, using the Majid infrared-guided system in central Iran.

For nearly two decades, the F-35 program represented the zenith of US military hegemony, a multi-trillion-dollar, fifth-generation platform designed to penetrate the world’s most sophisticated air defenses with impunity.

Other jets in the F-family have also been engaged and struck over the past month, including several F-15s, F-16s, and F-18s, intercepted by Iran’s advanced integrated air defense systems, which experts note have improved significantly since the 12-day war.

Iranian defenses have also destroyed more than a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones, valued at roughly $30 million each and forming the backbone of US unmanned surveillance and strike operations.

As of Friday, the IRGC announced that the total number of drones downed by the Joint Air Defense Headquarters’ integrated network has crossed 150.

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