The Israeli Defense Forces announced in their Twitter account that the Israeli version of the F-35, dubbed "Adir", was used in operational missions.
"The Adir airplanes are already operational and are flying into operational missions," said the tweet, quoting the head of the Israeli Air Force, General Amikam Norkin. "We are the first in the world to use the F-35 in operational activities".
The Israeli Air Force used the F-35 in two recent strikes in Syria, Norkin said, according to the Haaretz news release.
The use of the F-35 in combat is an important milestone for the aircraft that has been in development since the early 90s. The program was dented not only by cost overruns and delays, but also by constant attacks from critics who questioned the jet's combat capabilities.
The combat debut could also bode well for future fifth-generation fighter purchases. Israel has already ordered 50 Adir F-35 aircraft. However, his parliament last year urged the defense ministry to conduct an analysis of alternatives before moving forward with more orders, which could add another 25-50 jets to the IAF.
Israel's announcement follows another milestone last year when the United States Marine Corps deployed its vertical take-off and landing version, the F-35B, at Marine Corps Iwakuni Air Base in Japan. the first permanent air deployment for the United States.
Israel's decision to deploy its ADIR in Syria could result from the shooting down of an IAF F-16 last February, which prompted some experts to wonder why the IAF wasn't using the much better-performing F35 jet against the effective Syrian air defenses.
The US Air Force plans to follow suit. The F-35A should be deployed in Europe already in the 2020. These planes are destined to the base of the Royal Air Force of Lakenheath in England.
F Israeli 35 completely different from the others
Since 2015 Lockheed Martin has worked to meet a particular need of the Israeli Ministry of Defense: to extend the range of the F-35 by at least 30%. The Israeli F-35 is undoubtedly characterized by advanced systems and, among them, a greater range. The IAF requested specific additional tanks so as not to affect the fighter's profile and its stealth characteristics. Israel wanted to extend the range of the JSF to reduce in-flight refueling on long-range missions. The current range of an F-35 is approximately 1150 km. The Israeli F-35 with a 30% increase in its flight range could hit Iranian targets. However, even with this increased capacity, the fighter would always need a refueling in flight, considering that the Iranian targets are at a minimum distance of at least 1000 km. In any case, Israel has the ability to heavily modify the F-35, also disrupting its cell. In theory, any changes to the aircraft design or software should be made after the signing of a consensus agreement between the parties. Tel Aviv, after long and exhausting negotiations, was authorized to implement (according to established practice) indigenous hardware and various electronic warfare systems. The exact nature of the alterations (external and internal) is not clear, but some of these should have affected the precious source code, jealously guarded by the USA. In this regard, Israel would have been able to implement the new features without requiring the assistance of the United States, an exception never allowed to other partners.