The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the fighter jet of choice for the United States and 19 allied nations, including the United Kingdom and Israel. The UK’s Royal Air Force flies the F-35B Lightning II while the Israeli Air Force operates the F-35I Adir, Hebrew for “mighty” or “powerful,” an Israeli-specific variant of the F-35.
Following the outbreak of the 2026 conflict with Iran, the F-35 has made historic air-to-air kills with both nations.
On Mar. 3, 2026, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that the RAF’s F-35Bs made their first air-to-air kills. “RAF F-35B jets operating over Jordanian airspace shot down uncrewed aerial systems in defence of Jordan.
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This marks the first time RAF F-35 has shot down a target on operations,” the MoD said. “The aircraft was supported by RAF Typhoon jets and a Voyager air-to-air refueling aircraft as part of our defense operation to protect British interests and allies.”
The UK’s Ministry of Defence did not specify how many drones were shot down, but footage of the engagement was later released depicting the shootdown of a single drone with an AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM).
RAF F-35s can also carry the Meteor active radar-guided Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) and AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). The MoD also reported drone engagements by an RAF Typhoon and ground-based air defenses.
This was a historic engagement for the F-35 in RAF service, but it is not the first air-to-air kill for the platform. That occurred in 2022 when an IAF F-35I shot down two drones en route to the Gaza Strip with missiles. In IAF service, the F-35 conducted another historic engagement when it shot down a manned aircraft for the first time.
On Mar. 4, 2026, the Israel Defense Forces announced the successful engagement of an Iranian jet.
“An IAF F-35I ‘Adir’ fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet,” the IDF said. “This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 ‘Adir’ fighter jet.”
The IDF report of the Iranian aircraft as a fighter jet isn’t false, but it is a bit of a stretch. Introduced in 2010, the Yakovlev Yak-130 is a subsonic, two-seat jet that can be used as an advanced jet trainer or light combat aircraft.
NATO reporting names for enemy fighters start with “F” while miscellaneous aircraft like trainers and aerial refuelers start with “M.” The Yak-130’s NATO reporting name is “Mitten.”
To be fair, the Iranian Air Force (or what’s left of it) does/did arm its Yak-130s with Russian Vympel R-73E Short-Range Air-to-Air Missiles. If shooting down drones is the aerial combat equivalent of playing against bots offline, shooting down a Yak-130 is like seal clubbing. Still, an air-to-air kill is an air-to-air kill.
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