The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Friday that it had shot down an American F-35 Lightning II — the most advanced stealth fighter in the U.S. arsenal — using "a new advanced air defense system of the IRGC Aerospace Force." [1] Photographs of wreckage, published on Iranian state media within hours, told a different story. The vertical stabilizer fragment displayed two markings visible to anyone with access to a reference photograph: the badge of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and a red tail flash stripe belonging to the 494th Fighter Squadron, based at RAF Lakenheath. [2] The 494th flies F-15E Strike Eagles. It does not fly F-35s.

The Aviationist published a side-by-side comparison confirming the identification and assessed the images "do not appear to have been altered." [2] The War Zone corroborated the finding independently, noting that the red band on the tail fin matched known 494th aircraft. [3] Evergreen Intel, an OSINT account on X, provided additional comparative analysis of the left tail fin. [2]

The paradox is this: Iran's misidentification of its own kill is the strongest evidence that the wreckage is authentic. A state fabricating debris to support a propaganda claim would plant wreckage consistent with the claim — F-35 parts, not F-15 parts. Iran displayed F-15 parts while claiming an F-35 kill. The mismatch indicates the debris is real and Iran's air defense operators did not know what they hit. [2]

CENTCOM, which has been quick to rebut previous Iranian shootdown claims, had not issued a formal statement on the April 3 wreckage as of Saturday morning. [4] The silence tells its own story.

-- YOSEF STERN, Jerusalem