Historic first: Israeli F-35 downs Iranian fighter jet over Tehran
This is the first ever downing of a manned fighter jet by an F-35. The last time the Israeli Air Force shot down a plane was in November 1985, during an aerial battle over Lebanon
A historic milestone was achieved in the skies above Tehran on Wednesday when an F-35 fighter jet successfully shot down an Iranian aircraft, marking the first-ever instance of a manned fighter jet being taken down by an F-35.
The Israeli Air Force pilot, on a routine mission, identified the Iranian aircraft—a Yakovlev Yak-130, a Russian-designed jet trainer and light attack plane. After an air-to-air engagement, the Iranian aircraft was destroyed, while the F-35 emerged undamaged.
This event is the first air-to-air kill by Israel in nearly four decades. The last time the Israeli Air Force downed an enemy aircraft was on November 24, 1985, when an F-15 "Baz" shot down two Syrian MiG-23s over Lebanon. Unlike that encounter, the F-35’s engagement required minimal maneuvering against the comparatively lightly armed training aircraft.
The Yak-130, developed jointly by Russia’s Yakovlev design bureau and Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi, serves as a twin-engine advanced trainer and light attack aircraft. Originally designed in the early 1990s to replace the aging L-29 Delfin and L-39 Albatros jets, the Yak-130 combines pilot training capabilities with limited combat functionality. Following the Soviet Union’s collapse, development continued through a European partnership, eventually leading to separate versions, including the Italian M-346 Master.
The Israeli operation demonstrates the F-35’s unparalleled technological edge in modern aerial warfare and represents a major milestone in military aviation history.