Latest news with #F-35I
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Israel hits Iran's nuclear facilities with F-35I Adir jets costing $44K per hour to fly in daring mission
Israel has carried out a bold and very secret air strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The main focus of this operation was its top-of-the-line F-35I Adir stealth fighter jets. The move is one of the biggest steps up in tensions between the two regional powers in recent years. The mission stresses Israel's military superiority and growing worry about Iran's nuclear ambitions, which are moving faster than expected. This has caused concern around the world and a quick response from Tehran. Israel's F-35I stealth fighter jet fleet was on the front lines of Thursday's preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear program. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like You Might Want To Buy Baking Soda In Bulk After Reading This Read More What makes Israel's F-35I Adir jets so powerful? The Israeli version of the Lockheed Martin Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, called "Adir," which translates to "Mighty One" in Hebrew, is built by the United States. One of the most potent weapons in Israel's air defense arsenal is the F-35I, which has a customized electronic warfare system and advanced stealth capabilities, as per a report by Business Insider. Live Events ALSO READ: Aaron Rodgers secretly ties the knot — everything we know about Brittani, the ring, and that secret ceremony According to the Israel Defense Forces , Israel's aircraft attacked Iran and intercepted hundreds of Iranian drones, missiles, and rockets in 2024 and destroyed a missile fired by an Iranian-backed group in Yemen in 2023. Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets are among the most cutting-edge military aircraft in existence. Besides its aligned edges and radar-absorbent coating, the F-35's internal storage of weapons and fuel aids in its ability to avoid detection. In January, The National Interest reported that the planes cost $44,000 per hour to fly. They have sophisticated information-processing and stealth capabilities and can travel up to Mach 1.6, or 548.8 meters per second, supersonic, as per a report by Business Insider. In 2016, Israel purchased 50 F-35 fighter jets through the US Foreign Military Sales process, making it the first nation outside of the US to do so. By producing its own wings and electronic warfare system for the F-35I, Israel has significantly altered the aircraft. Additionally, it created its own version of the advanced helmet that shows the pilot's visor the plane's airspeed, altitude, targeting data, and other important statistics. The Israeli Air Force called its version of the F-35I "Adir," which translates to "Mighty One" in Hebrew. Why did Israel target Iran's nuclear sites now? In a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear program, the Israeli Air Force launched more than 200 fighter jets, including F-35I aircraft, on Thursday. Israeli fighter jets hit more than 100 locations throughout Iran on Thursday to stop it from creating a nuclear weapon, including military targets and its biggest uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, according to an IDF spokesperson. How did Iran respond to the Israeli airstrikes? Iran has "accelerated significantly" its nuclear program in recent months, according to the IDF, which described this as "clear evidence that the Iranian regime is operating to obtain a nuclear weapon." According to the IDF, Iran launched a counterattack on Friday morning with more than 100 drones, most of which were intercepted by Israeli forces, reported Business Insider. FAQs Which jets did Israel use to strike Iran? Israel used F-35I Adir stealth fighter jets in the operation. Why did Israel launch the attack? According to the IDF, the goal is to prevent Iran from moving forward with its nuclear weapons program.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli F-35s First To Use ‘Beast Mode' In Combat
Israel has confirmed that its F-35 stealth fighters have flown airstrikes using external ordnance. The F-35's so-called 'beast mode,' featuring heavier loads on underwing pylons, is familiar by now, but as far as is known, it has not been called upon operationally by any other countries. Meanwhile, Israel's unique F-35I fleet — locally known as the 'Adir' (Hebrew for mighty) — which features various local modifications, has frequently been at the forefront of demonstrating new capabilities. The Israeli Air Force announced the development in a post on the social media site X: 'The Israeli 'Adir' aircraft is the only aircraft in the world that has carried out operational strikes with an external armament configuration, which increased the attack capabilities.' This was a follow-up to a post that had announced the arrival of the next three F-35Is for the Israeli Air Force at Nevatim Air Base, last Thursday, where they will join 116 Squadron, the 'Lions of the South.' Three 'Adir' (F-35I) fighter jets, manufactured by @LockheedMartin, landed last week at Nevatim three jets will join the IAF and the 116th Squadron, bearing the IAF expansion of the 'Adir' fleet significantly enhances the lethal capabilities of the IAF. — Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 16, 2025 In another post, the Israeli Air Force said that, since the outbreak of the latest war in the Middle East, in October 2023, the service's F-35Is have flown more than 15,000 operational flight hours, taking part in 'thousands of sorties in all theaters.' Most intriguing is the statement that, during the conflict, Israel was actively working on a new external Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) capability for the F-35I. 'During the war, the Flight Test Center (FTC), in collaboration with Lockheed Martin and the F-35 program at the Pentagon, developed a new capability to carry external JDAM weapons on the aircraft's wings,' the Israeli Air Force says. While the F-35's ability to carry offensive weapons — including JDAMs — on four underwing pylons is far from new, it may be the case that the operational clearances for this in Israeli service were accelerated to meet an urgent requirement. It could also be the case that the Israeli 'beast mode' differs in certain respects from the baseline standard that has been demonstrated in tests elsewhere. Regardless, the Israeli Air Force has confirmed that it's the first F-35 operator to use the 'beast mode' in combat. The exact configuration used is unclear, although a photo published by the Israeli Air Force on X shows the unique instrumented F-35I assigned to the Flight Test Center carrying four external 2,000-pound class GBU-31 JDAMs. A single AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile can be seen in one of the internal weapons bays, which may also house another internal JDAM. The nature of the store just visible in the left weapons bay is unclear, but some kind of telemetry pod would make a lot of sense for an ordnance test mission like this one. Also noteworthy is the blanked-off Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) fairing under the nose, which is transparent on operational jets. When it comes to adding new capabilities to the F-35I, this has been aided by the provision of a uniquely outfitted test variant of the stealth fighter, which arrived in the country in 2020. The one-off version of the jet is charged with putting Israel-specific equipment through its paces, including weapons trials, avionics integration, and airframe modification and testing. It's also not clear in which particular strike missions the F-35I utilized external offensive stores, although the aircraft has seen extensive combat action since October 2023. It has been involved in raids on targets in Gaza and Lebanon and has also taken part in long-range strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen and against Iran. It should be noted, however, that the exact role of the Adir in the strikes on Iran is somewhat unclear, with some claims that the stealth fighters penetrated into Iranian airspace. The Adir has also been used in an air defense capacity, including against Houthi cruise missiles, as you can read about here. There had been previous indications that the F-35I was being used to carry external as well as internal ordnance in the current conflict. Back in August last year, for example, the Israeli Ministry of Defense released a video showing an F-35I refueling from a tanker, purportedly during a mission over Lebanon. The fighter was clearly fitted with a pair of underwing pylons (on the inner hardpoints) although these were not carrying any stores, at least not in this phase of the sortie. בהמשך לתקיפות בלבנון ביממה האחרונה, מצורף תיעוד מתדלוק מטוסי אדיר מעל שמי לבנון ותיעוד מיירוט כטב״ם על-ידי מסוק קרב: — Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) August 25, 2024 For Israel, the F-35's 'beast mode' is especially relevant. Carrying external stores erodes the F-35's valuable stealth characteristics in return for providing a considerably larger payload. For many of the kinds of missions that the Israeli Air Force flies, especially against opposition with little to no meaningful air defense capabilities, such a tradeoff would make complete sense. When it comes to prosecuting targets in more contested airspace, the Israeli Air Force prefers using standoff weapons, keeping its crewed aircraft out of the range of most air defense systems. In this kind of scenario, the low-observable capabilities of the F-35 are again less important, and there would be an argument to sacrifice them in favor of increased weapon carriage. At this stage, however, we don't know if any standoff weapons have been integrated into the Adir. As it stands, the JDAM is unpowered but can provide a degree of standoff range, being able to hit targets at up to about 15 miles away with launch from a typical fast-jet's speed and altitude. It's also worth noting that Israel has reportedly also developed a means of extending the range of its F-35Is, allegedly providing them with enough reach to hit targets in Iran without needing aerial refueling. How the F-35Is have had their range increased is unclear, but the most likely option involves additional external fuel carried in drop tanks. Other options might include some kind of conformal, flush-mounted fuel tank or perhaps some kind of fuel tank within the weapons bays. Were some or all of the F-35I's internal stores capacity to be turned over to fuel, for long-endurance missions without tanker support, then carrying ordnance on external pylons would become more of a necessity. For now, there are no more details of the F-35I's apparent range extension, although now that the jet's underwing pylons have been proven in combat, we might start to see weapons beyond the JDAM. These could also include Israeli-made weapons, as well as laser-guided precision munitions, which would be ideal for prosecuting moving targets. In the past, Israeli media has reported that the F-35I was modified to employ a 'one-ton bomb,' which implies a weapon weighing around 1,000 kilograms or just over 2,200 pounds. That would put it in the broadly same class as the U.S.-made GBU-24 Paveway laser-guided bomb or the GBU-31 JDAM. However, like the GBU-31, the new Israeli weapon, developed by Rafael Advanced Weapons Systems, can also be carried internally in the F-35 without impacting the aircraft's radar signature. Another option could be Rampage missiles, an air-launched adaptation of the ground-launched Extended Range Artillery guided rocket, or EXTRA. Rampage offers a significant standoff range, reducing risks to the launching aircraft, and is part of a growing arsenal of Israeli air-launched ballistic missiles and other similar aerial munitions, the importance of which has come into sharp focus in recent months, especially in retaliatory strikes on targets in Iran and also airstrikes in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force might also look at the option of increasing the air-to-air 'magazine depth' of the F-35, by putting AMRAAMs (or potentially other missiles) on external pylons. In the past, we have examined the value of having a stealthy flight of F-35s call up missiles on demand from non-stealthy 'beast mode' configured F-35s operating many miles behind them. This would help overcome the F-35s wanting internal air-to-air missile carriage capability, which is limited to four missiles at this time, although a six-missile internal load-out — known as Sidekick — is in the works for the F-35A and F-35C. With Israel's F-35Is already being tasked with defeating drones and cruise missiles, the option of carrying more air-to-air missiles to tackle larger numbers of threats could be interesting. Israel has repeatedly shown a willingness to expose its F-35 fleet to combat operations. Israel announced in May 2018 that it had become the first operator to use the jet on offensive operations and, since then, it has also recorded success in aerial combat against Iranian drones. For now, the latest milestone in the Israel Air Force's Adir story is the first confirmed instance of airstrikes using external ordnance in the F-35's 'beast mode.' Contact the author: thomas@
