Direct proof of use
The F-16I Sufa was used by Israel in the 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict during Operation Rising Lion. FPRI's air-offensive analysis identified F-16I aircraft in IDF footage and photos from the early hours of the campaign, including Sufa aircraft from Knights of the Orange Tail Squadron carrying eight GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs on BRU-61/A carriages for strikes against Iran.
FPRI also identified F-16Is from The Bat Squadron departing Israel for Iran strike sorties with two SPICE 1000 glide weapons each, and an F-16I from Knights of the Orange Tail Squadron being readied with two Rampage air-to-surface missiles during the opening hours. The IDF Air Force later ranked the Sufa third among aircraft types by attack volume in Iran.
Sources: FPRI Rising Lion Air Offensive Part I, IDF Aircraft Ranking in Iran
Timeline
On June 13, 2025, Israel opened Operation Rising Lion with air strikes and reported covert action against Iran; CRS records Iranian ballistic-missile retaliation and a June 24 ceasefire. The IDF described the campaign as a twelve-day operation against Iranian nuclear infrastructure, missile production facilities, military headquarters, air-defense systems, and senior commanders.
During the first days of the air campaign, FPRI assessed IDF media as showing F-16I aircraft with SDB, SPICE 1000, and Rampage precision weapons for Iran sorties. In a later TWZ interview, an Israeli F-16I navigator said he flew twice over Iran during Operation Rising Lion, about a week apart, and confirmed he was part of the first wave of attacks.
Sources: CRS Israel-Iran Conflict, IDF One Year Since Rising Lion, FPRI Rising Lion Air Offensive Part I, TWZ F-16I Navigator Interview
Operational role
The sourced record places the Sufa in Israel's long-range strike and interdiction package. Public evidence ties F-16I aircraft to air-to-ground attack sorties and observed precision-weapon carriage, not to a separate confirmed air-to-air kill record in this conflict.
The TWZ interview describes the F-16I's Iran-war role as part of coordinated strike packages with F-35I, F-15I, and F-15 Baz aircraft. The navigator described F-35 missions feeding information to F-16I crews before attack runs, while FPRI's ordnance review shows the Sufa carrying both direct-attack and standoff precision weapons across the opening phase of the campaign.
Public sources used here do not assign specific target hits, sortie counts, or battle-damage results to individual F-16I aircraft. The evidence supports Sufa participation in strike sorties against Iran and the observed use or carriage of SDB, SPICE 1000, and Rampage-class weapons during Operation Rising Lion.
Sources: TWZ F-16I Navigator Interview, FPRI Rising Lion Air Offensive Part I, IDF Aircraft Ranking in Iran
