2014 War Against the Islamic State

F-35 Lightning II in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State

U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft conducted their first combat employment during Operation Inherent Resolve on April 30, 2019, striking a Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache at Wadi Ashai, Iraq.

Weapon profileF-35 Lightning II
SideAnti-ISIS coalition and partner forcesRoleLong-Range StrikeInterdiction
F-35 Lightning II, Fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter, Aircraft & UAVs - 2014 War Against the Islamic State
Image source: F-35A flight (cropped).jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft were used in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State.

Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment, AFCENT April 2019 Airpower Summary

Two F-35As conducted an April 30, 2019 air strike at Wadi Ashai, Iraq, in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve.

Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment

The strike used a Joint Direct Attack Munition against an entrenched Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache in the Hamrin Mountains.

Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment, AFCENT April 2019 Airpower Summary

The public official record supports the variant, operator, date, conflict operation, target category, and general location, but not individual tail numbers or precise target coordinates.

Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment

Timeline

F-35 Lightning II In 2014 War Against the Islamic State

  1. F-35A deployment joins CENTCOM air component

    F-35A aircraft from Hill Air Force Base joined the Combined Forces Air Component team in the U.S. Central Command area of operations during the type's first CENTCOM-area deployment.

    Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment

  2. F-35A conducts first combat employment in Iraq

    Two U.S. Air Force F-35As conducted an Operation Inherent Resolve air strike at Wadi Ashai, Iraq, using a Joint Direct Attack Munition against a Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache in the Hamrin Mountains.

    Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment, AFCENT April 2019 Airpower Summary

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The F-35 Lightning II is directly documented in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State through the U.S. Air Force F-35A strike at Wadi Ashai, Iraq, on April 30, 2019. U.S. Air Forces Central Command reported that two F-35A Lightning II aircraft conducted an air strike in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve.

The official account identified the mission as the F-35A's first combat employment. It said the aircraft used a Joint Direct Attack Munition against an entrenched Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache in the Hamrin Mountains, a target area described as able to threaten friendly forces.

Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment

Timeline

The aircraft reached the theater shortly before the strike. U.S. Air Force reporting says F-35As from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, joined the Combined Forces Air Component team in the U.S. Central Command area of operations on April 15, 2019, during the type's first deployment to the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

On April 30, 2019, two F-35As struck the Wadi Ashai target. AFCENT's later April airpower summary repeated the same strike details and placed the mission inside Operation Inherent Resolve air operations in Iraq and Syria, where U.S. and coalition pilots flew strike and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sorties in support of coalition and partner ground forces.

Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment, AFCENT April 2019 Airpower Summary

Operational role

In this conflict record, the F-35 appears as a U.S. coalition strike aircraft, not as a system transferred to Iraqi or Syrian partner forces. The public sources identify the operator as the U.S. Air Force, the variant as the F-35A, the mission as an air strike, and the target category as a Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache.

The documented role fits long-range strike and interdiction: the aircraft attacked a fixed ISIS tunnel-and-cache target in Iraq during the post-territorial phase of Operation Inherent Resolve. The public releases do not name the exact aircraft tail numbers, provide target coordinates, or publish a battle-damage assessment beyond the target description.

Sources: AFCENT F-35A First Combat Employment, AFCENT April 2019 Airpower Summary

Images

Conflict Context

U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aerially refuels during its first air interdiction mission in the CENTCOM area of responsibility
A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aerially refuels on April 30, 2019, during the mission period identified as the F-35A's first air interdiction in the U.S. Air Forces Central Command area of responsibility.

Sources: USAF F-35A First Air Interdiction Image

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Sources