The United States has quietly crossed a threshold that planners in Tehran long treated as theoretical, sending F-35 stealth fighters into Iranian airspace to clear a path for strikes on nuclear infrastructure. What began as a tightly guarded mission to neutralize uranium enrichment sites has now emerged as a case study in how a roughly $2 trillion fifth-generation fleet can combine stealth, sensors, and precision weapons to crack some of the most heavily defended targets on earth.
I see the operation as more than a one-night raid. It is a live demonstration of how the United States intends to fight in contested skies, from the first F-35s slipping past radar to the final bomber releasing bunker busters on hardened facilities deep inside Iran.
The first breach of Iranian airspace
The most striking fact about the operation is that it marked the first time F-35s were publicly acknowledged as having penetrated Iranian airspace in combat. According to official accounts, the United States Air Force and Navy attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran after a long buildup of planning and regional deployments, with the stealth jets at the leading edge of the package that crossed the border and opened the route to those targets. The description of United States aircraft striking Iranian nuclear sites, including uranium enrichment facilities, underscores how far Washington was willing to go to degrade the program once the decision was made to act, and how central the F-35 had become to that plan, as reflected in detailed reporting on United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
From my perspective, the breach itself is as important as the damage inflicted. Iranian planners had invested heavily in layered air defenses, betting that a mix of radar, missiles, and hardened bunkers would deter or at least blunt any attack. Instead, the first wave of F-35s slipped through that shield, validated the aircraft’s low observable design in one of the most contested environments on the planet, and set the conditions for follow-on aircraft to hit the nuclear complex. The fact that the United States chose to employ its most advanced fighters in this role signals both confidence in the platform and a willingness to expose it operationally when the stakes are high enough.
Hill airmen and the CENTCOM deployment
The road to that first breach ran through a carefully staged deployment into the U.S. Central Command theater. Pilots and maintainers from Hill Air Force Base were at the core of the effort, with the 388th Fighter Wing pushing its F-35s into forward locations so they could reach Iranian targets quickly once the order came. Official accounts describe how, on June 22, a formation of F-35s flown by 388th Fighter Wing pilots became the first aircraft to penetrate Iranian airspace as part of the strike package, a milestone that highlighted both the unit’s experience and the aircraft’s role as the tip of the spear, as detailed in the narrative of Hill airmen carry out historic F-35 deployment to CENTCOM.
What stands out to me is how that deployment fused routine expeditionary practice with an unprecedented mission profile. Hill’s airmen had already cycled through multiple rotations in the region, but this time the F-35s were not just augmenting air policing or deterrence patrols. They were rehearsing complex routes, refining electronic warfare tactics, and integrating with bombers and support aircraft that would later follow them into Iranian airspace. The fact that the same formation that trained in CENTCOM skies ultimately led the first incursion into Iran underscores how the Air Force now treats the F-35 as a mature combat asset rather than an experimental platform.
Inside Operation Midnight Hammer
The codename that has emerged for the strike, Operation Midnight Hammer, captures both the timing and the intent of the mission. The operation focused on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities, with the Air Force F-35As assigned to shape the battlespace so that heavier aircraft could deliver the decisive blows. Accounts of Operation Midnight Hammer describe how the stealth fighters were tasked to locate and suppress air defenses, sanitize corridors, and then support the bombers as they released their weapons on hardened nuclear infrastructure, a sequence that is laid out in detail in coverage of The Air Force F-35As in Operation Midnight Hammer.
From my vantage point, Midnight Hammer reads like a template for future high-end operations. The Iranian targets were not isolated bunkers in the desert but nodes in a broader nuclear network, protected by overlapping defenses and political risk. By assigning F-35s to the earliest and riskiest phases of the mission, the United States signaled that it sees the aircraft as the central nervous system of any strike package, responsible for sensing, jamming, and killing threats before they can react. The operation’s focus on uranium enrichment sites also underlines how Washington is willing to employ its most advanced tools when it judges that the nuclear clock is ticking too fast.
F-35s as the spearhead and last out
Commanders involved in Midnight Hammer have emphasized that the F-35 stealth fighters were not just the first aircraft into Iran and then quickly withdrawn. Instead, they spearheaded strikes deep inside Iran and remained on station until the final wave of aircraft exited, providing cover and situational awareness throughout the mission. Reports on the operation describe how the F-35s led the way into Iran and were the last ones out, a detail that underscores their dual role as both pathfinders and guardians for the rest of the force, as recounted in analysis of how F-35 stealth fighters spearheaded strikes deep inside Iran and were the last ones out.
I read that sequencing as a deliberate choice rather than a byproduct of mission timing. Keeping the F-35s overhead until the end meant that every other aircraft, from bombers to tankers, could benefit from their sensors and electronic warfare capabilities during the most vulnerable phases of ingress and egress. It also meant that if Iranian forces managed to regroup or launch late salvos, the stealth fighters were still in position to detect and engage those threats. In practical terms, the F-35s acted as both the opening key and the closing lock on the airspace over Iran, ensuring that the strike package could complete its work and then withdraw intact.
Escort and integration with B-2 Spirit bombers
The most dramatic element of the mission was the pairing of F-35s with B-2 Spirit bombers, a combination that brought together two generations of stealth technology in a single strike package. The US Air Force has released an unusually detailed account of an F-35A deployment that included escorting B-2 Spirit aircraft and coordinating with supporting fighter aircraft, with commanders recounting how the fifth generation jets helped guide the bombers through contested airspace and manage the broader flow of the mission. That description of F-35s escorting the Spirit into Iranian skies illustrates how the aircraft’s sensors and data links were used to extend the bombers’ reach and survivability, as laid out in the narrative of The US Air Force detailing the F-35 mission deep inside Iran.
In my view, that escort role is central to understanding how the United States intends to employ its stealth fleet in the coming years. The B-2 Spirit remains the only bomber capable of carrying the largest bunker busters against deeply buried targets, but it relies on accurate targeting data and a relatively clean threat picture to survive. By placing F-35s alongside the bombers, the Air Force effectively turned the fighters into forward scouts and electronic bodyguards, feeding real time information into the strike plan and suppressing threats before they could lock on. The result was a layered stealth formation in which the F-35s and B-2s operated less as separate platforms and more as a single, networked weapon system.
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses as the opening move
At the heart of the mission was a classic but evolving task: Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses. The U.S. Air Force disclosed for the first time that the F-35s in Midnight Hammer were explicitly tasked with the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, using their sensors and weapons to locate, jam, and destroy Iranian radar and missile sites that could threaten the rest of the package. Accounts of the operation describe how the Air Force integrated this SEAD role into a broader plan that also involved other aircraft under codenames like Rough Rider and Operation Midnight Hammer, highlighting how the F-35s were central to dismantling the air defense network, as detailed in reporting on the Air Force Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses tasking.
I see that SEAD assignment as the clearest proof that the F-35 has matured into the role it was designed for. Rather than relying solely on legacy aircraft and standoff jamming, the Air Force pushed its newest fighters directly into the teeth of Iranian defenses, trusting their stealth and electronic warfare suites to survive and dominate. By doing so, it turned the SEAD phase from a separate prelude into an integrated part of the strike, with F-35s simultaneously hunting emitters, feeding targeting data to bombers, and engaging threats as they appeared. That approach not only cleared the way for bunker busters to reach their targets but also demonstrated a playbook that could be applied in other heavily defended theaters.
What Washington chose to reveal about the F-35
Equally revealing is how much the United States has chosen to say publicly about the F-35’s role. The United States has disclosed details of its advanced fighter aircraft in the Iran strikes, describing how the jets were used to penetrate sophisticated defenses and hinting at their potential to operate against other major powers. In the same breath, officials have pointed to the aircraft’s ability to act as a sensor node and strike platform that could, in theory, penetrate China’s defenses, a comparison that appears in coverage of how The United States revealed F-35 jet roles in strikes on Iran nuclear sites.
From my perspective, that messaging is aimed at multiple audiences. For Tehran, the disclosure is a warning that its most sensitive facilities are not beyond reach, even when wrapped in layers of air defenses and buried underground. For other rivals, the reference to the F-35’s ability to penetrate China’s defenses is a reminder that the platform is already being used in real combat against sophisticated systems, not just in exercises or simulations. And for domestic and allied audiences, the transparency helps justify the enormous investment in a fleet that is often described as costing around $2 trillion over its lifecycle, by showing that the aircraft is delivering concrete strategic effects.
Cost, capability, and the $2T question
The scale of that investment looms over every discussion of the F-35’s performance in Iran. When policymakers and analysts talk about a roughly $2 trillion fleet, they are referring not just to the unit price of each jet but to the total cost of development, procurement, operations, and sustainment across decades and multiple services. The Iran strikes offered one of the first chances to see whether that price tag translates into unique battlefield advantages, from the ability to slip past Iranian radar to the precision needed to guide bunker busters onto nuclear infrastructure without triggering a wider regional war. In that sense, the mission served as a live audit of the program’s value proposition.
Based on the available accounts, the F-35s appear to have delivered on the core promises that justified their cost. They penetrated Iranian airspace ahead of other aircraft, executed Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, escorted B-2 Spirit bombers, and remained on station until the last aircraft left, all while feeding data across the formation. Those are precisely the roles that a fifth generation fleet was supposed to fill when the United States committed to building it at such scale. The unanswered question, which will shape future budgets and export decisions, is whether that performance can be sustained and replicated in other theaters without driving the lifecycle cost even higher.
Strategic fallout for Iran and the region
The immediate tactical success of the strikes is only part of the story. By sending F-35s and B-2 Spirit bombers into Iran to hit uranium enrichment sites, the United States has altered the strategic calculus in Tehran and across the region. Iranian leaders now have to assume that their most sensitive facilities can be reached and damaged despite investments in air defenses and hardening, while neighboring states have seen a vivid demonstration of how quickly Washington can project stealth power into contested airspace. The description of United States aircraft attacking three nuclear sites and the role of Operation Midnight Hammer in that campaign underscores how the strikes targeted the core of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure rather than peripheral assets.
In my assessment, that reality cuts both ways. On one hand, it may push Iran to reconsider how fast and how far it pushes its nuclear program, knowing that the United States has both the capability and the political will to strike. On the other, it could drive Tehran to double down on asymmetric responses, from missile salvos to proxy attacks, in an effort to raise the cost of any future raids. For regional partners who host U.S. forces or rely on American security guarantees, the operation is likely to be read as reassurance that Washington is still willing to act decisively, even as it juggles other global commitments. The F-35s that breached Iranian airspace have therefore done more than drop bunker busters on hardened targets. They have redrawn the map of what is militarily and politically possible in the Gulf, at a moment when every actor is recalculating its next move.
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Grant Mercer covers market dynamics, business trends, and the economic forces driving growth across industries. His analysis connects macro movements with real-world implications for investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Through his work at The Daily Overview, Grant helps readers understand how markets function and where opportunities may emerge.
