{"id":1762,"date":"2026-03-04T09:11:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T09:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/breaking-israeli-f-35i-shoots-down-iranian-yak-130-over-iran\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T09:11:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T09:11:45","slug":"breaking-israeli-f-35i-shoots-down-iranian-yak-130-over-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/breaking-israeli-f-35i-shoots-down-iranian-yak-130-over-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking: Israeli F-35I Shoots Down Iranian Yak-130 Over Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"F-35I<\/p>\n

This is the first time an F-35 has shot down a manned fighter jet.<\/h2>\n

We will probably get more details throughout the day, but on Mar. 4, 2026, the Israeli Defense Forces announced on social media that an F-35I Adir jet belonging to the Israeli Air Force shot down an Iranian Yak-130 over Tehran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\u05de\u05d8\u05d5\u05e1 \u05d0\u05d3\u05d9\u05e8 (F35I) \u05e9\u05dc \u05d7\u05d9\u05dc \u05d4\u05d0\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d4\u05e4\u05d9\u05dc \u05dc\u05e4\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d6\u05de\u05df \u05e7\u05e6\u05e8 \u05de\u05d8\u05d5\u05e1 \u05e7\u05e8\u05d1 \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d0\u05e0\u05d9 (YAK-130) \u05de\u05e2\u05dc \u05e9\u05de\u05d9 \u05d8\u05d4\u05e8\u05df.<\/p>\n

\u05d6\u05d5 \u05d4\u05e4\u05dc\u05d4 \u05d4\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d5\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05e9\u05dc \u05de\u05d8\u05d5\u05e1 \u05e7\u05e8\u05d1 \u05de\u05d0\u05d5\u05d9\u05e9 \u05e2\u05dc \u05d9\u05d3\u05d9 F-35<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u05e6\u05d1\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d4\u05d2\u05e0\u05d4 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc (@idfonline) March 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here\u2019s a translation of the text posted by the IDF on X:<\/p>\n

\u201cAn Israeli Air Force Adir (F-35I) jet shot down an Iranian combat aircraft (YAK-130) over Tehran skies a short time ago.<\/p>\n

This is the world\u2019s first shootdown of a manned fighter jet by an F-35.\u201d<\/p>\n

Images of at least one Yak-130 aircraft equipped with air-to-air missiles, allegedly flying over Tehran, were shared online on March 2, 2026, suggesting the IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force) was able to operate the type despite suffering constant and heavy hits by the Israeli and U.S. forces involved in the air campaign against Iran.<\/p>\n

\n

\u067e\u0631\u0648\u0627\u0632 \u062c\u0646\u06af\u0646\u062f\u0647\u200c\u0647\u0627 \u062f\u0631 \u0622\u0633\u0645\u0627\u0646 #\u062a\u0647\u0631\u0627\u0646<\/a>
\n\u062a\u0635\u0627\u0648\u06cc\u0631 \u062f\u0631\u06cc\u0627\u0641\u062a\u06cc \u0648 \u067e\u06cc\u0627\u0645\u200c\u0647\u0627 \u062f\u0631\u0628\u0627\u0631\u0647 \u0635\u062f\u0627\u06cc \u067e\u0631\u0648\u0627\u0632 \u062c\u0646\u06af\u0646\u062f\u0647\u200c\u0647\u0627\u060c \u062f\u0648\u0634\u0646\u0628\u0647 \u06f1\u06f1 \u0627\u0633\u0641\u0646\u062f#Iran<\/a> #Tehran<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9oLkRkxe5u<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Vahid Online (@Vahid) March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Yak 130 Mitten<\/h3>\n

The\u00a0Yakovlev Yak-130\u00a0is a subsonic two-seat advanced trainer originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi (now Leonardo).<\/p>\n

Along with the advanced jet trainer role, the \u201cMitten\u201d (Yak-130 NATO\u2019s nickname), able to replicate the characteristics of Russian Gen. 4 and 4++\u00a0\u00a0combat aircraft, is capable of fulfill Light Attack (LA) and Reconnaissance tasks and it can carry a payload of 3,000 kilograms, including guided and unguided weapons, external fuel tanks and electronic pods.<\/p>\n

The LA version, dubbed YAK-131 and equipped with mechanical radar (Phazotron) or\u00a0Passive Electronically Scanned Array\u00a0(PESA), is planned to replace the\u00a0Su-25 Frogfoot<\/a>.The Russian Air Force has also developed a reconnaissance variant of the Mitten, dubbed\u00a0 Yak-133.<\/p>\n

Externally, the Yak-130 bears a significant resemblance with Italian\u00a0M-346 \u201cMaster\u201d<\/a>, produced by Leonardo Company and already operated by the\u00a0ItAF (Italian Air force)<\/a>,\u00a0IAF (Israeli Air Force)<\/a>, RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force),\u00a0Polish Air Force<\/a>,\u00a0Hellenic Air Force<\/a>,\u00a0Turkmen Air Force<\/a>\u00a0and in the future\u00a0Nigerian<\/a>. However, the two aircraft are completely different, in terms of avionics, engine, with the Master being considered one of the\u00a0world\u2019s most advanced trainer<\/a>, also thanks to a top notch\u00a0ground based training system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first Yak-130 Mitten<\/a> aircraft for the IRIAF were delivered in 2013, and operated at\u00a0Iran\u2019s 8th Tactical Air Force Base near Isfahan, ahead of the completion of the training of the first group of six Iranian Yak-130 instructor pilots in Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n

In IRIAF service, the Yak-130\u2019s primarily role is training pilots destined to the varied fleet of Soviet and U.S-made Cold War-era, including the F-14 Tomcats<\/a>, F-4E Phantom IIs and F-5 Tigers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Iranian<\/a>
The IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force) Yak-130 with the R-73 air-to-air missile. (Image credit: Iranian Air Force via X)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to reports<\/a> emerged in October 2024, Russia had completed the delivery of 12 Yak-130 aircraft<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a story posted last year,\u00a0Tehran Times<\/em> said that the Yak-130s are \u201ca platform for training pilots on fourth-generation fighters while also providing limited combat support.\u201d In 2025, during its first operational exercise, an Iranian Yak-130 coordinated with two MiG-29s to intercept and destroy a target drone with an R-73E SRAAM (Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile) air-to-air missile, highlighting a secondary combat role.<\/p>\n

In a previous story about the type we posted here<\/a> at The Aviationist<\/em>, we explained that \u201cwhile unlikely to be used against Israeli fighters like the F-35, F-15 or the F-16, the jet could become a force multiplier when used for area defense of military facilities or air bases attempting to intercept UAVs or cruise missiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, it looks like the Yak-130 shot down on Mar. 4 over Tehran, was flying a counter-drone mission when it was shot down by the Israeli Air Force F-35I.<\/p>\n

\n

JUST MINUTES AGO, the Israeli Air Force shot down a Yak-130 advanced jet trainer of the Iranian Air Force using an F-35I Adir. The Yak-130 was flying over Tehran to intercept and shoot down Israeli Hermes-900 drones, but it was intercepted and destroyed by the Israeli Air Force.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/lxSrzRAxXx<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Babak Taghvaee \u2013 The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) March 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a developing story. We will update it as more details emerge.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the first time an F-35 has shot down a manned fighter jet. We will probably get more details throughout the day, but on Mar. 4, 2026, the Israeli Defense Forces announced on social media that an F-35I Adir jet belonging to the Israeli Air Force shot down an Iranian Yak-130 over Tehran.\u00a0 \u05de\u05d8\u05d5\u05e1 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zephyrsys.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}