Tehran, April 3 -- A second US fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet was struck and downed over central Iran by a modern air-defence system of the Islamic Republic's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with officials saying the pilot is unlikely to have ejected, Iranian state media reported on Friday.

According to state media Press TV, citing a statement attributed to the Spokesman of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, it was claimed the jet was downed by a new IRGC Aerospace Force air-defence system.

It further stated that the impact and crash generated a "massive explosion" that made pilot survival unlikely.

"A second US fifth-generation F-35 was struck and downed over central Iran by a new IRGC Aerospace Force air-defence syste...