US Navy Downs Iranian Shahed-139 Drone Heading Toward USS Abraham Lincoln

The US Navy shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 strike drone, a copy of the American MQ-1, which was approaching the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

This was reported by Reuters regional correspondent Idris Ali on his social media account.

According to available information, the incident occurred in the Arabian Sea. The drone was intercepted by an F-35 fighter jet, presumably the F-35C carrier-based version.

No further details are available at this time. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) and other official US sources have not yet commented on the situation.

If the drone was acting alone, the incident may be a demonstration by Tehran aimed at showing the Ayatollah regime’s willingness to ignore the risks of possible escalation.

At the same time, if there were several drones, Washington may regard the incident as a targeted attack, potentially paving the way for retaliatory measures.

Attacks on the US Navy

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Iranian-made Shahed drones have attacked US Navy ships.

In December 2023, in response to the actions of the Yemeni Houthis, who are supported by Iran, an international maritime operation called “Guardian of Prosperity” was launched.

As part of this operation, US and allied forces have repeatedly been attacked with strike drones and cruise missiles of Iranian origin.

Throughout 2025, the Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on US ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.

In these cases, the threats were repelled by both ship-based air defense systems and deck-based aircraft.

During such attacks, there were also casualties among deck-based aircraft due to friendly fire.