Iran conflict 2026: Israeli F-35 claims type's first combat kill against manned aircraft

A file photo of an Israeli F-35I. One of the type has claimed the JSF's first combat kill against a manned aircraft. (Israeli Air Force)

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has claimed the first air-to-air kill for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) against a manned aircraft, with a successful engagement of an Iranian jet announced on 4 March.

According to the IAF, an F-35I Adir (the designation and name of the type in Israeli service) shot down an Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Yakovlev Yak-130 ‘Mitten' light combat aircraft during the event. No further details were disclosed.

News of the engagement came two days after the IAF declared air superiority over Tehran on 2 March, citing the destruction of enemy air-defence systems and command centres just hours into the US-led conflict with Iran.

For the air-to-air role, the F-35I carries the infrared-guided Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile (AAM) and the radar-guided AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). Israel is working to integrate its indigenous missiles, such as the Python 5 AAM, but this work is not understood to have yet been completed. It is also equipped with an internal GAU-22/A 25 mm cannon.

While this is the first confirmed kill for an F-35 of any variant and any operator against a manned aircraft, the type has previously claimed a number of air-to-air victories in international service against unmanned aircraft, and the IAF has downed at least one cruise missile using the fifth-generation ‘stealth' jet.

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Iran conflict 2026: Israel declares air superiority over Tehran