An Israeli F-35 just scored the stealth fighter jet’s first-ever air-to-air combat victory against a crewed aircraft.
An F-35I “Adir” shot down an Iranian Air Force Yak-130 over Tehran, marking its “first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft,” the Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday.
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II entered service in 2015 and is operated by around a dozen countries, including Israel, which fields its own variant of the fighter jet called the “Adir.”
The F-35 has intercepted missiles and drones in combat in the Middle East, but it had never shot down a crewed jet — until now. The incident also marks the first time in more than 40 years that Israeli fighters have downed a crewed enemy aircraft.
The Yakovlev Yak-130, which NATO calls the “Mitten,” is a subsonic twin-seater light combat aircraft that also serves as a training jet. Russia has built hundreds of these planes, which entered service in 2010. Several have been delivered to Iran.
Since the start of operations on Saturday, Israeli fighter jets have bombed targets across Iran, hitting air defense systems, missile launchers, and military facilities across the country. Hundreds of people have been killed, including dozens of military and government officials, as well as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Israeli F-35s are operating in the Middle East alongside US and British F-35s. The UK Ministry of Defense said Monday that Royal Air Force F-35s shot down drones over Jordan, marking the first time one of its stealth fighters has destroyed a hostile target in combat.
American F-35 fighters are one of many US combat aircraft participating in the operations against Iran, including other stealth fighters, electronic attack jets, surveillance planes, airlifters, refueling tankers, and bombers.
US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said on Monday that American forces have bombed more than 1,700 targets in Iran since the strikes began on Saturday.
The US military has targeted Iranian command and control facilities, air defense systems, ballistic missile sites, naval infrastructure, and communications capabilities.
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