F-35C shoots down Iranian Shahed-139 drone approaching USS Abraham Lincoln as IRGC harasses U.S. tanker

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A U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 reconnaissance drone as it flew toward the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command confirmed. Hours earlier, two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone attempted to board and seize a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Both incidents happened as the Trump administration weighs potential military strikes against Iran while simultaneously pursuing nuclear negotiations later this week.

• The development: An F-35C from the Lincoln’s Carrier Air Wing 9 shot down a Shahed-139 drone that “aggressively approached” the carrier approximately 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast, according to a statement from CENTCOM.
• The second incident: IRGC forces harassed the M/V Stena Imperative tanker in the Strait of Hormuz with fast boats and a Mohajer drone, threatening to board and seize the vessel before the destroyer USS McFaul intervened.
• The diplomatic angle: Despite the shootdown, U.S.-Iran nuclear talks remain scheduled for later this week, with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff set to meet Iranian officials.
• Iran’s version: Tehran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency claims the drone was actually a Shahed-129 on a “usual and legal” reconnaissance mission that “lost communication.” CENTCOM identified it as a Shahed-139.

The Shahed-139 is not a kamikaze drone

The Shahed-139 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle developed as a next-generation evolution of the Shahed-129 armed reconnaissance drone. It is a reusable surveillance and strike platform, not the cheap one-way attack drone that most people associate with the Shahed name. The aircraft has a conventional fuselage with a rear-mounted pusher propeller and straight wings optimized for long flights, similar in size and role to the American MQ-1 Predator that the U.S. retired years ago.

That distinction matters. The Shahed-136 kamikaze drones that Russia has launched by the tens of thousands against Ukraine cost roughly $20,000 each and explode on impact. The Shahed-139 is something different entirely: a surveillance platform equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors, possibly a small radar, and potentially capable of carrying up to four missiles. It has an estimated range exceeding 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and a ceiling altitude of around 5 kilometers (16,400 feet).

Images released by Iranian state media show the drone carrying an EO/IR sensor pod. No public photos exist of the Shahed-139 carrying weapons, but given that its predecessor, the Shahed-129, has been armed and used in combat strikes during the Syrian Civil War, defense analysts believe the 139 variant retains strike capability.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency disputes CENTCOM’s identification, claiming the downed aircraft was a Shahed-129, not a 139. “The Shahed 129 drone was on its usual and legal mission in international waters, engaged in reconnaissance, monitoring, and filming, which is considered a normal and lawful action,” Tasnim reported. “This drone successfully sent its reconnaissance and identification images to the center but then lost communication.”

The F-35C fired in self-defense after de-escalation failed

CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins provided a detailed timeline of the engagement in statements to multiple outlets. The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) was transiting the Arabian Sea roughly 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast when the Iranian drone “unnecessarily maneuvered toward the ship.” U.S. forces attempted de-escalatory measures first. The drone kept coming.

“The Iranian drone continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters,” Hawkins said. “An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board.”

No U.S. service members were harmed. No U.S. equipment was damaged. CENTCOM did not specify what weapon the F-35C used. The carrier-based Joint Strike Fighter can carry AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles, AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missiles, and a 25mm gun pod. The F-35C that conducted the intercept belongs to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, part of Carrier Air Wing 9 embarked on the Lincoln.

This is not the first time U.S. naval fighters have been tasked with shooting down Iranian-origin drones. F-35Cs shot down Houthi drones in the Red Sea during operations against Iran-backed militants in 2024 and 2025. Back in 2019, a counter-drone vehicle aboard the USS Boxer knocked down an Iranian drone as the ship transited the Strait of Hormuz. The pattern is familiar. The platform doing the shooting is new.

IRGC boats and Mohajer drone threatened to seize U.S. tanker

Hours before the Shahed-139 shootdown, IRGC forces confronted the M/V Stena Imperative, a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed oil tanker lawfully transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Two IRGC fast boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the tanker at high speed and, according to CENTCOM, threatened to board and seize it.

The guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG-74), already operating nearby, responded immediately. The McFaul escorted the Stena Imperative with additional air cover from U.S. Air Force aircraft, including what Air & Space Forces Magazine identified as two F-16 Fighting Falcons.

“The situation de-escalated as a result, and the U.S.-flagged tanker is proceeding safely,” Hawkins confirmed.

Iran told a different story. The Fars news agency, citing unnamed officials, claimed the vessel had entered Iranian territorial waters without the required legal permits. The UK Maritime Trade Operations office also issued an advisory regarding the incident.

Iran has a long history of harassing and occasionally seizing foreign commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, particularly during periods of high tension with the United States. The Stena name itself is loaded: in 2019, IRGC naval forces seized the British-flagged Stena Impero tanker in the same waterway during a previous standoff.

The Lincoln carrier strike group arrived weeks ago as Trump threatened strikes

The USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group were retasked from the Indo-Pacific and arrived in the CENTCOM area of responsibility in late January 2026. The carrier brings Carrier Air Wing 9, which includes F-35C Lightning IIs, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2D Hawkeyes, CMV-22B Ospreys, and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks. Three destroyers travel with the Lincoln: the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., USS Spruance, and USS Michael Murphy.

Six additional U.S. Navy ships are operating in the Middle East, including a destroyer in the Red Sea, two destroyers near the Strait of Hormuz, and three littoral combat ships in the Persian Gulf. Trump has referred to the deployment as a “massive armada.”

The buildup follows Iran’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests in late 2025, during which thousands of demonstrators are believed to have been killed. Trump has publicly warned that “bad things would happen” if Iran refuses to negotiate. CENTCOM has already deployed its first LUCAS combat drone task force in the region, a Shahed-inspired American weapon built by reverse-engineering a captured Iranian drone.

Last week, CENTCOM issued a direct warning after Iran announced a two-day live-fire naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz.

“We will not tolerate unsafe IRGC actions including overflight of U.S. military vessels engaged in flight operations, low-altitude or armed overflight of U.S. military assets when intentions are unclear, high-speed boat approaches on a collision course with U.S. military vessels, or weapons trained at U.S. forces,” the command stated Friday.

Tuesday’s events proved that warning was not rhetorical.

Diplomacy continues despite the shootdown

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that upcoming U.S.-Iran nuclear talks remain on schedule. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet with Iranian officials later this week, with Turkey and Oman among the countries that have offered to host.

“President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango,” Leavitt told Fox News. She added that Trump “has always a range of options on the table, and that includes the use of military force.”

Leavitt referenced Operation Midnight Hammer, the U.S. and Israeli strikes that hit Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan during the 12-Day War in June 2025. That conflict severely degraded Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and military production capacity, including drone manufacturing facilities. Since then, the U.S. has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions targeting Iran’s drone rebuilding efforts across eight countries.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signaled willingness to negotiate on Tuesday, instructing his foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” provided the environment is “free from threats and unreasonable expectations.” Iran’s Tasnim reported that consultations are underway to select a venue for the meeting.

The cost equation tells the real story

Here is the math that should keep defense planners awake at night. An F-35C costs approximately $94 million. An AIM-9X Sidewinder costs around $430,000. An AIM-120 AMRAAM costs roughly $1.1 million. The Iranian Shahed-139 is worth a fraction of any of those numbers.

This is the same asymmetric cost problem that defined the Red Sea campaign against Houthi drones and missiles. The U.S. Navy fired hundreds of millions of dollars worth of interceptor missiles at targets that cost a few tens of thousands of dollars each. Iran understands this math better than anyone.

The Shahed family of drones, from the $20,000 kamikaze Shahed-136 to the more capable reconnaissance variants like the 139, has sparked a global arms race. The U.S., China, France, and the UK are all developing their own versions of the triangular-winged design. The Pentagon’s LUCAS drone, now deployed to the Middle East with Task Force Scorpion Strike, was literally built by reverse-engineering a captured Shahed.

Meanwhile, Russia has added cameras, modems, and jet engines to its Shahed variants, pushing production past 200 units per day. And in January, we reported that Moscow armed Shahed drones with MANPADS, turning one-way attack weapons into self-defending platforms. The Iranian drone ecosystem is evolving faster than the countermeasures designed to stop it.

DroneXL’s Take

Two things can be true at once: this shootdown was tactically straightforward and strategically loaded.

On the tactical side, an F-35C killing a propeller-driven reconnaissance drone is not a fair fight. The Shahed-139 flies at maybe 150-200 km/h. The F-35C’s sensors can detect it from dozens of miles away. The only real question is what weapon the pilot used and how much it cost relative to the target. CENTCOM isn’t saying, which probably means they’d rather not highlight that math.

The strategic picture is far more interesting. Iran sent a surveillance drone toward a carrier strike group that’s there specifically to threaten Iran. That’s either a provocation or a probe, and either way, it worked. Tehran now knows exactly how the Lincoln strike group responds to an approaching UAS: what the alert timeline looks like, what assets scramble, and how close the drone got before being engaged. That intelligence is worth the loss of one airframe.

We’ve been covering Iran’s drone program for years, and we’ve tracked how procurement networks spanning eight countries keep funneling components to Tehran despite wave after wave of U.S. sanctions. The June 2025 strikes damaged Iran’s drone production infrastructure, but the Shahed-139 flying toward the Lincoln today proves that damage was not permanent. Iran can still build and operate sophisticated MALE drones in international airspace, even under maximum pressure.

The tanker incident is the more alarming development. Shooting down a reconnaissance drone is a known playbook. IRGC boats threatening to board and seize a U.S.-flagged vessel, with a Mohajer drone providing overwatch, is an escalation of the kind that has historically preceded wider conflicts in the Persian Gulf. The Stena name echoes 2019. The geography is identical. The difference is that the U.S. now has a carrier strike group parked 500 miles away with orders to respond.

My prediction: expect Iran to continue drone surveillance flights near the Lincoln over the coming weeks, testing response times and probing for gaps. Tehran’s playbook is consistent: use cheap unmanned platforms to gather intelligence on expensive American assets while maintaining deniability. The Tasnim claim that the drone “lost communication” is a textbook face-saving narrative. If diplomacy fails and tensions escalate further, these reconnaissance flights will be the early warning indicators to watch.

What’s your take on the shootdown? Let us know in the comments below.

Editorial Note: This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of AI to ensure technical accuracy and archive retrieval. All insights, industry analysis, and perspectives were provided exclusively by Haye Kesteloo and our other DroneXL authors, editors, and YouTube partners to ensure the “Human-First” perspective our readers expect.