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The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday released a video it said shows the moment an Israeli F-35I “Adir” stealth fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force Yak-130 over Tehran, marking the first time the advanced aircraft has downed a manned fighter in combat.
“Completed. Target down. The target is down,” the pilot can be heard saying in the footage set to “Star Wars” theme music.
Israel’s military said Wednesday that the shootdown over the Iranian capital was a key milestone for its F-35 fleet.
Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, commander of the Israeli Air Force, commended the pilots who carried out the mission as part of Operation Roaring Lion.
“The historic shootdown over the Tehran skies is a testament to the strength of the Israeli Air Force and to your personal determination,” Bar said. “The war continues – return home safely. Get some rest. The next mission is already waiting for you.”
The F-35I is Israel’s customized version of the U.S.-made F-35 Lightning II, a fifth-generation stealth fighter that anchors the country’s air fleet.
Israel became the first country to select the aircraft through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process in 2010 and received its first jet in June 2016.
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The Israeli Air Force gave the aircraft the Hebrew name “Adir,” meaning “Mighty One.”
The Yak-130, by contrast, is a Russian-made, two-seat combat training aircraft designed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau and manufactured by United Aircraft Corporation.
It first flew in 1996 and remains in active production.
Iran received its first Yak-130 aircraft in September 2023, according to Press TV, Iran’s state-run English-language broadcaster, as part of a broader effort to modernize its air force.
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In November 2023, Brig. Gen. Mahdi Farahi, Iran’s deputy defense minister, told Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian news agency, that plans had been finalized for Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters and additional Yak-130 trainers to join the country’s armed forces.
Iran previously acquired MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia in the 1990s.
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