Direct proof of use
Israel used the F-35I Adir, the Israeli variant of the F-35 Lightning II, in the 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict. The clearest June 2025 primary-source evidence is the Israeli Air Force article ranking the Adir second among aircraft types that attacked in Iran during Operation Rising Lion and saying it stood at the center of the operation's opening stages.
FPRI's open-source study of Rising Lion describes the F-35I-equipped Lions of the South and Golden Eagle squadrons as having an extensive role in the air offensive. It characterizes the Adir as a penetrating intelligence, surveillance, target-acquisition, reconnaissance, and precision-strike platform that also guided and directed other aircraft across the battlespace.
The IDF later reported a separate March 2026 air-to-air engagement in the same Israel-Iran conflict cycle: an Israeli Air Force Adir shot down an Iranian Yak-130 roughly 1,500 kilometers from Israel during continuing Israeli activity over Iranian skies.
Sources: IDF Aircraft Ranking in Iran, FPRI Rising Lion Air Offensive Part I, IDF F-35I Iranian Fighter Jet Shootdown
Timeline
On June 13, 2025, Israel opened Operation Rising Lion with air strikes and reported covert action against Iran. FPRI places the first wave of Israeli fighter precision strikes at about 0300 Israel time and says about 200 fighters participated in the initial attacks against targets in western, northwestern, and central Iran, including Tehran.
On July 3, 2025, the Israeli Air Force published its ranking of aircraft that attacked most in Iran, placing the F-35I Adir second and describing it as central to the early operation. In March 2026, the IDF reported the Adir's Yak-130 shootdown during renewed Israeli operations over Iran.
Sources: CRS Israel-Iran Conflict, FPRI Rising Lion Air Offensive Part I, IDF Aircraft Ranking in Iran, IDF F-35I Iranian Fighter Jet Shootdown
Operational role
The sourced record supports Israeli use of the F-35I as a strike, targeting-support, and air-superiority aircraft in the conflict. IDF and FPRI material connect the Adir to the opening stages of Operation Rising Lion and to Israeli freedom of action over parts of Iran, while IDF reporting on June 2025 describes broader campaign targets such as nuclear infrastructure, missile production facilities, military headquarters, air-defense systems, and senior commanders.
FPRI separates the Adir's role from simple bomb carriage. It emphasizes the F-35I's onboard sensor fusion and off-board information sharing, saying the aircraft helped other fighters by providing tactical information in near real time. That evidence supports a targeting-support and battle-management role alongside direct strike participation.
The March 2026 Yak-130 engagement is the most specific public air-to-air use claim for the F-35 in this conflict. The IDF account identifies the aircraft type, user, target, and approximate distance from Israel, but it does not publish the missile type, exact location, or a full engagement timeline. This record therefore treats the event as an IDF-reported shootdown rather than an independently reconstructed combat sequence.
Sources: IDF One Year Since Rising Lion, FPRI Rising Lion Air Offensive Part I, IDF F-35I Iranian Fighter Jet Shootdown, Janes F-35 First Manned Aircraft Kill
