The single-crew fighters can cost more than $100 million each. What to know about the jets.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took credit Thursday for striking an F-35 for the first time since America launched

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.

It starts as a dream — flying in a fighter jet for the first time. But once airborne, the conditions change. Turbulence builds, the aircraft begins to move, and flying in close formation becomes something far more serious.

A U.S. F‑35 was hit during a combat mission over Iran, with the pilot landing safely. The incident comes as Iran escalates attacks on major energy facilities.