F-35 pilots receive Distinguished Flying Crosses for Midnight Hammer, missions in Yemen

Eleven months after they escorted B-2 Spirit stealth bombers into Iran, airmen from the 34th Fighter Squadron were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their part in the June 2025 strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Six airmen from the 34th Fighter Squadron received Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Air Force’s highest honor for valor during flight against an enemy, for actions covering last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer as well as last spring’s fight against Houthi forces in Yemen. The squadron, flying F-35As, deployed to the Middle East in early 2025 for several months.

Lt. Col. Aaron Osborne, Maj. Alexander Cox, Maj. Scott Lafferty, Capt. Dakota Bowden, Capt. Christopher Patti and Capt. Tyler Penkalski received the Distinguished Flying Cross. 15 others from the squadron received Bronze Stars, with Osborne and Lafferty receiving both awards. Most of the awards were presented to the airmen on May 21 at the squadron’s home in Hill Air Force Base in Utah, although the Air Force did not announce them until May 26.

The June 21-22 aerial and naval attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities. 125 aircraft participated in the mission, seven of them being B-2 bombers. They flew from the continental United States, being refueled by KC-135s and escorted by an aerial armada of F-15s, F-16s, F-22s and F-35s. The bombers dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators on two of the sites while the Navy launched cruise missiles at the third. The aircraft then exited Iranian airspace with no losses.

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The 34th Fighter Squadron’s awards are the latest awarded to airmen for their roles in Midnight Hammer in recent weeks, more than half a year after the mission. Together, they offer more details on the operation and the resistance air crews and pilots faced than the Pentagon initially said in June.

On March 31, 12 pilots and boom operators from the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron received Distinguished Flying Crosses for their role in Midnight Hammer, with one boom operator receiving two. Those included Distinguished Flying Crosses with V and C devices, for “an act or acts of heroism by an individual above what is normally expected while engaged in direct combat,” and for being exposed to “grave danger” by enemy action, respectively. Earlier this month, six F-16 fighter pilots from the 55th Fighter Squadron received Distinguished Flying Crosses, with the unit saying that their role in Midnight Hammer involved “high-risk flights into heavily defended airspace” and “direct combat with adversaries.”

For the 34th Fighter Squadron, they joined the B-2s over the Middle East. According to the Air Force, the F-35s were the first aircraft inside Iranian airspace, where they had the combined tasks of escorting the bombers to the strike zones and taking out enemy air defenses.

“Our weapons officer was the overall mission commander,” Osborne said in an Air Force release. “We employed weapons to great effect against surface-to-air missile sites… while they were trying to target us with some very high high-end systems and they were just unable to. … It was cool to see the jet detect and defeat things — to watch it do exactly what it was designed to do.”

The jets were never fired upon, according to the Air Force, and they were the last planes to leave Iranian airspace.

“We got out the door very, very quickly”

The 34th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron deployed to the Central Command area of responsibility in March 2025. According to the 388th Fighter Wing, it was a short notice Immediate Response Force Tasking, being rushed to join Operation Rough Rider, the resumption of attacks against Houthis. The U.S. and United Kingdom carried out several attacks on Houthi-controlled areas under Operation Poseidon Archer between January 2024-January 2025 before a loose ceasefire started. Starting March 15, American airstrikes resumed with the 34th Fighter Squadron targeting missile launch sites and air defenses.

“We got out the door very, very quickly,” Osborne said in a release in November after the squadron wrapped its deployment. “Within 24 hours of being in theater, we were flying the F-35 in combat missions against Houthi targets.”

During that operation, pilots scored the F-35A’s first air-to-air kills against one-way attack drones. Beyond striking Houthi targets, the squadron provided aerial support for naval units in the waters around Yemen.

Alongside the six pilots who received Distinguished Flying Crosses this month, those honored included support personnel and maintainers.

In March, the 34th Fighter Squadron received the 2025 Raytheon Award, which goes to the top fighter squadron in the entire force. The award cited the unit’s actions in the Middle East last year.