73
he Israeli Air Force initially
wanted nothing to do with the
F-35 programme. Following its
groundbreaking purchase of the F-15I
Ra’am in 1995, Israel believed it could find
a way to become the first export customer
for the F-22 Raptor, deciding therefore not
to become an F-35 partner nation. Only
when the US Department of Defense closed
the door on any Raptor export did Israel
turn its attention to the F-35A variant.
Israel’s venture into the Lightning II
programme centres upon a requirement
for 50 so-called F-35I models (equivalent
to the F-35A) and Israel’s first fifth-
generation ‘stealth’ unit was selected
as 140 ‘Golden Eagle’ Squadron, which
had operated the F-16A until 2013. The
squadron has been shrouded in secrecy
since its establishment with the F-35 and
very few details have emerged other than
the unit commander’s name – Lt Col Yotam.
The F-35 was named Adir by Israeli Air
Force commander Maj Gen Amir Eshel, the
Hebrew name translating as ‘mighty one’.
On December 12, 2016, Israel became
the third country to receive its own
F-35s on home soil – beaten by Italy by
a few hours. The arrival ceremony at
Nevatim was delayed by a few hours and
the aircraft arrived at night, somewhat
hampering the grandiose occasion.
Since that cold night in December,
the Israeli Air Force has been hitting
milestone after milestone with its new
jets. Its first operational mission wasconducted a mere 16 hours after the
first pair of aircraft arrived in Israel.
The aircraft, serial 901, was piloted by
Lt Col Yotam, with aircraft 902 later
joining up in formation with an F-16I.
The IAF continued to push the Adir’s
capabilities forward with a stated goal
of achieving initial operating capability
(IOC) within a year of the first arrival
in country. On January 15, 2017, the
first night missions were undertaken
and in the following months the aircraft
completed in-flight refuellings with IAF
Boeing 707 Re’em tankers and dropped
munitions in training sorties as well as
forward deploying to other IAF bases.
Throughout 2017 the IAF received an
additional seven jets in three batches.
Meanwhile, various reports from
foreign media outlets claimed the F-35Is
had been used in combat as early as
a month after initial delivery. While
there has been no evidence to verify
this, it underlines how forward-looking
many consider this air arm to be.
Following an intense year, during the
first week of December 2017, and following
a significant inspection, Gen Amikam
Norkin declared the Adir’s IOC, making
Israel the first export nation to do so.
Significantly, during the first week of May
2018, Gen Norkin confirmed that Adirs had
in fact deployed weapons twice in combat
operations. No further details were released,
but it confirms the importance of these
assets to Israel and their usefulness in
this troubled region. Yissachar RuasABOVE: The then IAF boss Maj Gen Amir Eshel
after his first flight in the Adir at Nevatim, with
base commander Brig Gen Eyal. IAF/Celia Garion
RIGHT: The first pair of F-35s arrived at
Nevatim on December 12, 2016. Yissachar Ruas
LEFT: Golden light catches an F-35I during a
recent demonstration in Israel. Yissachar Ruas
T
Lockheed Martin unveiled the first Israeli F-35 (901/AS-01) at Fort Worth on June 22, 2016.
Lockheed MartinIsrael is the first country to use the fifth-
generation F-35 in combat, flying operational
missions “across the Middle East”. This
was the first operational mission flown in
December 2016. IAF/Maj OferF-35