The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reported that an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-35I “Adir” fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force Yak-130 over Tehran.
This is first time an F-35 “Adir” has downed a crewed aircraft in combat, it said.
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In a post on X, the IDF said: “An IAF F-35I ‘Adir’ fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet. This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 ‘Adir’ fighter jet.”
This incident is also the first reported air-to-air engagement involving an IAF crewed aircraft in approximately 40 years.
The last recorded instance occurred on 24 November 1985, when an IAF F-15 “Baz” shot down two Syrian MiG-23s during an encounter over Lebanon, according to local media reports.
The Yak-130, produced in Russia since the 1990s, primarily serves as an advanced training platform for pilots preparing to operate more advanced aircraft such as the SU-57. It also has capabilities for use as an attack aircraft.
Besides Iran and Russia, several other nations, including Algeria, Libya, and Myanmar, operate the Yak-130.
Israel became the first country to opt for the F-35 through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales programme, signing a Letter of Agreement in October 2010.
The IAF named the aircraft “Adir” and took delivery of its first unit on 22 June 2016.
By January this year, Israel operated 48 F-35 aircraft. The IDF confirmed the arrival of three F-35I jets at Nevatim Air Force Base, which were acquired from Lockheed Martin. In total, Israel has purchased 50 of these aircraft.
Before this incident, other air forces had achieved operational milestones with the F-35 platform. The Royal Air Force previously used F-35B jets to shoot down drones over Jordanian airspace in its first operational shootdown event involving these aircraft.
