Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed to have downed an Israeli F-16 over central Iran, a charge Israel denies, stating only that one of its aircraft faced missile fire without sustaining damage. This incident follows Iran's earlier assertion of damaging a US F-35.

The U.S. military were engaged in major rescue mission in western Iraq after a Stratotanker refueling aircraft crashed, killing six crew members.

The F-35 will also serve as a test bed for technologies that will become commonplace in the next generation of jets. Flying in coordination with AI-enabled drones will become a staple of any sixth-generation fighter, and those new fighter tricks will likely first arrive in the form of the F-35.

Commercial satellite imagery shows that China's state-owned aviation company has dramatically expanded manufacturing facilities for military aircraft, including the fifth-generation J-20 fighter, with total fighter production capacity set to reach 300-400 units annually.