Stealthy F-35s ‘Adir’ is filmed killing two Iranian Shahed UAVs [video]

By Boyko Nikolov

TEL AVIV, ($1=3.29 Isreali Shekels) — Israel is using the combat capabilities of its fifth-generation F-35 Adir stealth fighters for the first time after it managed to shoot down two of the three enemy Iranian drones flying in March last year, BulgarianMilitary.com has learned. Thus, Israel is the first documented country to conduct an air battle on an F-35 with an enemy aircraft.

New version of the 5th-generation F-35 stealth fighter arrives in Israel for testing
Photo credit: The Drive

Israel declassified documents on February 6, including video footage showing the successful destruction of one of Iran’s two drones. It is not clear where the video came from – whether from the display of the pilot’s helmet or from the mounted electro-optical device of the combat aircraft.

From the stories of the pilots involved in the battle, it is clear that radar and ground air defense systems have detected dangerously approaching three unmanned aerial vehicles of Iran, which are believed to be Shahed-197 or Shahed-161 – copies of the American RQ-170 Sentinel, but much smaller and propelled. Two of the drones were shot down by an F-35 Adir, and a third was shot down by an electronic warfare system.

Israel has suggested that the drones came from Iraqi or Syrian territory from Iranian proxies and were then deployed once over Jordan, something the IDF has said has happened before. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, such drones are often used to carry firearms, or they are part of the armament of an organization at war with Israel. Most often, this is the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas.

Stealthy-F-35s-'Adir'-is-filmed-killing-two-Iranian-Shahed-UAVs-
Photo credit: The Drive

However, Israeli military experts make another assumption – Iranian drones were part of the establishment or already established a new route for the supply of weapons to Hamas. If so, experts say, Israeli F-35s may have been able to cut off this “new route”, directing Iran’s efforts to look for other possible trajectories.

The IDF’s announcement of Iranian drones shot down by Israeli F-35 Adir stealth fighters prompted Defense Minister Benny Ganz to say Iranian aggression is a threat to the entire region, whether on Iranian territory or Iranian proxies.

Israeli-Iranian proxy war / cold war

Communication between Israel and Iran is mostly threatening and hostile. Such has been the relationship between the two countries for a very long time. This situation is known as the proxy conflict, the proxy war, or the Cold War between the two countries.

The conflict “appeared” on the world map after the Iranian revolution in 1979. In all the years to this day, Iran aims to destroy Israel as a state. Tehran supports groups and organizations that are hostile to the Jewish state and people. On the other hand, Israel is worried about Iran’sIran’s nuclear program. The proximity of the two countries worries Tel Aviv that Iranians could use them against Israel if Iran has nuclear weapons. Israel also finds its allies in the face of the United States and Saudi Arabia, which are apparent opponents of Iran.

Thus, this conflict gradually turned into an Israeli-Iranian war. The competition has been going on since the start of the Syrian civil war. According to Iran, Israel rules by an illegitimate “Zionist regime,” a Tehran problem. Iran’sIran’s other point of reference is that the United States is hostile to Muslims because it supports Israel.

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