Israeli F-35 notches first kill of a manned fighter in downing of Iranian Yak-130

JERUSALEM — An Israeli F-35I fighter jet shot down an Iranian Yak-130 in an air combat that lasted a “few seconds,” marking the first kill of a manned fighter jet by an F-35, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said on Wednesday.

Israel’s announcement comes amid the ongoing “Epic Fury” military operation, a joint U.S.-Israeli strike against military targets in Iran.

In another first, the U.K. reported that its Royal Air Force’s F-35B jets had intercepted Iranian drones above Jordan as part of a defensive mission alongside “Epic Fury,” marking the first targets destroyed by the British warplane type.

The Israeli Version of the F-35 is called “Adir,” which means mighty in Hebrew, and is a fifth-generation stealth fighter jet manufactured by the American defense company Lockheed Martin.

Israel upgraded the jet to its own specifications, including domestically made electronics systems and adjustments to carry and launch Israeli armaments such as the Python 5 air-to-air missile and Rafael’s SPICE bomb.

Israel began receiving its first F-35 aircraft at the end of 2016 — four years after the British received theirs — and currently possesses two dedicated squadrons, totaling at approximately 50 aircraft. In July 2023, Israel placed an order for 25 more to build a third F-35 squadron.

The F-35I has participated in several Israeli military campaigns such as operations “Guardian of the Walls” in June 2021, “Rising Lion” last June and the current military campaign in Iran under its Israeli name, “Roaring Lion.” Since that operation began on Feb. 28, the Israeli Air Force reported that it has dropped about 4,000 munitions so far in about 1,600 raids into Iran.

The Yak-130 aircraft that was shot down by the Israeli Air Force over Teheran is Russian-made and is also used by the Iranian Air Force for reconnaissance purposes.

The type can reportedly be armed with short-range air-to-air missiles. It commonly operates alongside Iranian MiG-29, mainly to intercept drones. The Israeli Air Force notes that the Yak-130 kill is the first time since 1985 that an Israeli fighter jet has shot down an enemy warplane.

Tzally Greenberg is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has experience reporting on economic affairs as well as defense and cyber companies.

耶路撒冷——以色列国防军发言人周三表示，一架以色列F-35I战斗机在持续“几秒钟”的空战中击落了一架伊朗雅克-130战斗机，这是F-35首次击落有人驾驶战斗机。

以色列发表此声明之际，正值美以联合对伊朗军事目标发动“史诗狂怒”军事行动。

英国方面宣布，其皇家空军的 F-35B 战机在约旦上空拦截了伊朗无人机，这是英国“史诗狂怒”行动的一部分，也是该型英国战机首次摧毁目标。

以色列版的F-35被称为“Adir”，在希伯来语中意为“强大的”，它是由美国国防公司洛克希德·马丁制造的第五代隐形战斗机。

以色列根据自身规格对喷气式飞机进行了升级，包括采用国产电子系统，并进行了调整，使其能够携带和发射以色列武器，例如 Python 5 空空导弹和拉斐尔公司的 SPICE 炸弹。

以色列于2016年底开始接收首批F-35战机——比英国晚了四年——目前拥有两个F-35专用中队，共约50架战机。2023年7月，以色列又订购了25架F-35战机，以组建第三个F-35中队。

F-35I战斗机参与了以色列的多次军事行动，例如2021年6月的“守护者之墙”行动、去年6月的“雄狮崛起”行动，以及目前正在以色列境内以“咆哮雄狮”之名开展的军事行动。自2月28日该行动开始以来，以色列空军报告称，已对伊朗境内进行了约1600次空袭，投掷了约4000枚弹药。

在德黑兰上空被以色列空军击落的雅克-130飞机是俄罗斯制造的，伊朗空军也使用该机型进行侦察。

据报道，该机型可配备短程空空导弹。它通常与伊朗的米格-29战斗机协同作战，主要用于拦截无人机。以色列空军指出，击落雅克-130是自1985年以来以色列战斗机首次击落敌方战机。

扎利·格林伯格是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。他拥有丰富的经济事务以及国防和网络安全公司报道经验。