On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, the press services of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Air Force (IAF) announced on social media the first confirmed air-to-air combat victory involving a Lockheed Martin F-35I Adir multirole fighter and an Iranian Yak-130 (NATO reporting name: Mitten).
Photo: IAF
No details of the incident have been disclosed, but this marks the first-ever shootdown of a manned combat aircraft by an Lockheed Martin F-35I Adir. According to media reports, the Iranian aircraft was intercepted and shot down during a combat air patrol as part of the ongoing Operation Roaring Lion.
It is also the first air-to-air victory in history by an aircraft of the F-35 Lightning II family against another manned combat aircraft. Yesterday, the UK Ministry of Defence reported that F-35B Lightning II fighters had shot down an undisclosed number of Iranian drones over Jordan. Earlier, on September 10, 2025, a F-35A Lightning II operated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force shot down Russian Gerbera drones over Poland.
🛩️IRANIAN JET SHOT DOWN: An IAF F-35I “Adir” fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet.
This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 “Adir” fighter jet.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 4, 2026
IRANIAN JET SHOT DOWN: An IAF F-35I “Adir” fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet.
This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 “Adir” fighter jet. pic.twitter.com/q6lJb38gRJ
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 4, 2026
Earlier this week, observers reported that Iranian trainer-combat aircraft had been deployed to conduct patrols in the Tehran area alongside frontline MiG-29 fighters. The Yak-130 aircraft are reportedly armed with Vympel R-73E short-range air-to-air missiles (DIA/NATO designation: AA-11 Archer) and were assigned missions focused on engaging Israeli Elbit Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicles operating at medium and low altitudes.
پرواز جنگندهها در آسمان #تهران
تصاویر دریافتی و پیامها درباره صدای پرواز جنگندهها، دوشنبه ۱۱ اسفند#Iran #Tehran pic.twitter.com/9oLkRkxe5u— Vahid Online (@Vahid) March 2, 2026
In 2021, authorities in Tehran ordered 24 Yak-130 aircraft from Russia for the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF). The first two were delivered in late August 2023, and by the end of October 2024 a total of 12 aircraft had been delivered. They were assigned to the 8th Tactical Air Base (Khatami) located northeast of Isfahan.
This is another combat loss for the IRIAF during the ongoing war with the United States and Israel. On March 2, the Qatari Ministry of Defense reported that two Su-24MK tactical bombers had been shot down. The same day, a Su-22M4 was also lost at Shiraz Shahid Dastgheib Airport, and on March 1, at Tabriz Shahid Madani Airport, one F-4 Phantom II and one F-5F Tiger II were lost.
Israel currently has 48 of the 50 F-35I Adir fighters ordered in the first two batches (the latest three were delivered on January 18 of this year). They are operated by two squadrons at Nevatim Air Base: the 140th “Golden Eagle” (operational readiness achieved on December 6, 2017) and the 116th “Lions of the South” (operational readiness achieved on August 6, 2020). Meanwhile, on June 4, 2024, Israel ordered an additional 25 F-35I aircraft for about 3 billion USD, which will equip a third operational squadron — the 117th “First Jet.” In total, Israel is therefore expected to operate 75 aircraft of this type.
