TEHRAN, May 11 — A U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet squawked 7700 emergency signal on Monday morning as it was flying over the Gulf of Oman, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
After sending the distress code, the fighter aircraft changed route toward the United Arab Emirates and landed at Al Dhafra Air Base in the Arab state, the report said.
The aircraft was the second U.S. Air Force fighter jet to have sent the emergency signal while flying over the Gulf of Oman within the past 24 hours.
On Sunday morning, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that a U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet squawked 7700 as it was flying over the Gulf.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, two U.S. Air Force aircraft, namely a KC-135R Stratotanker and a Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, which were carrying out operations over the Gulf, squawked 7700, Tasnim reported.
Citing flight-tracking data and regional reports, it said the KC-135 Stratotanker had reportedly experienced an in-flight emergency over the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz and sent a distress code before vanishing from radar.
According to Tasnim, the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus sent the code while flying in Saudi Arabia’s airspace on its way back to Tel Aviv, Israel. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
