Iran is weeks away from receiving 300 to 400 Chinese-made QW-12 and FN-16 MANPADS in a $60–70 million deal signed through the Hong Kong intermediary Zhongqing Baoshang International Investment and routed by air through Pakistan - the largest known Iranian short-range air defense purchase since the war began on 28 February 2026.
We break down what those missiles actually do and why the F-35A Lightning II was engineered from day one to survive them:
the AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System
the AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare suite
the AN/ALE-70 towed decoy, and
the Pratt & Whitney F135
On 19 March 2026, an Air Force F-35A was hit by ground fire over Iran, the pilot took shrapnel, and the jet landed safely - the first time a stealth fighter has ever been struck by enemy fire.
Beijing calls the reporting groundless, Islamabad denies the transit route, and the White House says the Chinese leader gave a personal commitment not to arm Tehran.
In the Round Up: more than 30 Minnesota water systems were compromised through internet-exposed programmable logic controllers, and the first acknowledged strike on Egyptian soil in this war after Iranian state TV named the target 2 days in advance.
