IDF Releases Footage of World-First F-35 Air-to-Air Kill, Downing Iranian Yak-130 Over Tehran

The Israeli Defense Forces released cockpit footage showing an F-35I Adir fighter jet downing an Iranian Yak-130 military trainer aircraft over Tehran on March 4, marking the first-ever air-to-air kill by an F-35 stealth fighter and the Israeli Air Force first aerial combat engagement in approximately 40 years. IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the Iranian aircraft had departed Tehran Mehrabad Airport and threatened Israeli jets conducting strikes in the area. The last Israeli air-to-air kill was in 1985 when F-15s downed two Syrian MiG-23s over Lebanon; the F-35 is now expected to receive its first kill marking.