First case in world: Israeli F-35 shoots down manned YAK-130 fighter jet over Tehran
An F-35I Adir fighter jet belonging to the Israeli Air Force shot down a manned YAK-130 fighter jet belonging to the Iranian Air Force for the first time in history.
This was reported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to Censor.NET.
What is known?
"Our Air Force's F-35I Adir fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet. This is the first time in history that a manned fighter jet has been shot down by an F-35 Adir fighter jet in combat conditions," the military said.
More about aircraft
- The Yak-130 is a Russian combat training aircraft developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau in collaboration with the Italian company Alenia Aermacchi. Russia began transferring these aircraft to Iran in 2023, and Iranian pilots were trained specifically for combat use of these aircraft — in particular, for intercepting and shooting down drones.
The aircraft is used to train flight school cadets and is intended to replace the old L-39s in the Air Force. The Yak-130 can carry UPK-23-250 gun pods with 23 mm cannons, Kh-31 guided missiles, as well as guided and conventional bombs.
- The F-35 Adir is a fifth-generation multi-role fighter developed by the American company Lockheed Martin.
The aircraft is equipped with a wide range of weapons: AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-132 ASRAAM, and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, Storm Shadow and AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles, as well as JDAM guided bombs weighing up to 910 kg, WCMD cluster bombs, AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon guided aerial bombs, and Brimstone anti-tank missiles.
The F-35 is designed to engage both air and ground targets and is equipped with stealth technology. The F-35I is the Israeli version of the F-35A, with its own communications and control systems.
