Key Points and Summary – Israel’s F-35I “Adir” (“Mighty One”) has proven itself as arguably the world’s best stealth fighter, succeeding in the June 2025 “Operation Rising Lion” against Iran.
-The F-35Is penetrated Iranian air defenses in broad daylight, destroyed nuclear facilities with precision-guided bombs, and returned with no losses.
Israel F-35I Adir Stealth Fighter. Image Credit: IAF.
An Israeli Air Force pilot walks to an F-35I Adir prior to a Red Flag-Nellis 23-2 mission at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, March 15, 2023. Red Flag is an opportunity to build on the success of JUNIPER OAK 23-2, JUNIPER FALCON, and additional combined exercises to enhance interoperability with Israel, strengthen bilateral cooperation, and improve capabilities in ways that enhance and promote regional stability and reinforce the United States’ enduring commitment to Israel’s security. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Trevor Bell)
-This combat success is attributed to unique Israeli modifications, including an indigenous “frequency hopping” jamming pod and an advanced software system that “learns” from every sortie.
-This combat-proven record makes the Adir the world’s most formidable 5th-generation fighter.
What Is So Mighty About Israel’s F-35I Adir?
What is the best fighter jet in the world? The Americans claim this title with the F-35 and F-22. The Russians tout their Su-57, and the Chinese are proud of the J-20. But Israel may assert that its Lightning II, acquired from the United States, is pound-for-pound the world champion. The Israelis call this excellent warbird the F-35I Adir – Hebrew for “Mighty One.”
This airplane was definitely mighty in June of this year during the 12-day war against Iran. The F-35I maneuvered swiftly and expertly, evading Iranian radar, suppressing enemy air defenses, and dropping precision-guided munitions. No F-35Is were damaged in the slightest during Operation Rising Lion. This was wholeheartedly a Day One warfare asset that showed the world just how powerful the F-35I is.
Flying Computer Is Now Super
The F-35I is a “flying supercomputer.” The flight controls are out of this world. The airplane is adept at electronic warfare and collects intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data with the best of them.
This is a pilot’s dream as aviators gain superior knowledge about the adversary’s air defenses and learn quickly the best way to avoid them.
The Israelis have a real-time view of the aerial battlefield that allows death and destruction from above due to the maximum firepower of the F-35I.
F-35I Adir. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
F-35I Adir Fighter from Israel. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The F-35I can fly long and deep into enemy territory. This makes it a critical asset for destroying Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure.
The Israelis have increased their strategic, operational, and tactical proficiency against the Iranians as a result. Air force commanders are enthusiastic about the future of the F-35I program as it learns lessons during the combat engagements against the Iranians.
Sneakiness Even in Broad Daylight
Another interesting aspect of many missions in Iran was that they happened in broad daylight against the Natanz enrichment facility, ballistic missile sites, and top nuclear scientists.
This shows just how radar evasive the F-35I is. Since there were no combat losses, the Israelis can conclude that they have one of the world’s stealthiest fighter jets.
The Russians and the Chinese cannot claim that type of successful combat experience with their stealth fighter programs.
World Leader in Fifth-Generation Aerial Combat
Israel showed that fifth-generation airplanes will be an essential aspect of warfare in the 2030s.
Israel will still depend on its F-16Is and F-15Is, which have been optimized for war, but with the F-35I, the Israelis have shown they can alter the military balance in the Middle East.
F-15I Fighter from Israel. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
An Israeli F-15I Ra’am assigned to the 69th Squadron launches for a sortie in support of exercise Juniper Falcon May 7, at Uvda Air Base, Israel. Juniper Falcon 17 represents the combination of several bi-lateral component/ Israeli Defense Force exercises that have been executed annually since 2011. These exercises were combined to increase joint training opportunities and capitalize on transportation and cost efficiencies gained by aggregating forces. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Tech. Sgt. Matthew Plew)
The F-35I also had a warm-up period in operations against Hamas and Hezbollah before the attacks on Iran. To be sure, the terrorists in Lebanon and Gaza have no opposing air forces, but the F-35I showed that it could destroy targets in a precise manner repeatedly without much collateral damage.
F-35I Is More Than Outstanding
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, Program Executive Officer and Director of the F-35 Lightning II Program, told Congress that the Israeli F-35I performance was “absolutely outstanding” during missions against Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israelis have a strong force of 38 F-35Is. That is more than enough to make a difference in warfare.
The land attack missiles that it probably used were Spice weapons (1,000 and 2,000-pound bombs), the Rampage missile air-to-ground munition, and Delilah standoff cruise missiles, FlightGlobal.com said.
F-35Is can also drop American-made JDAMs for even better combat efficacy. The name of the game for Israel is to use the F-35I’s ability to sneak in close to targets and launch these munitions to significant effect.
One reason that the F-35I is so good is that it “learns” from each mission.
New data collected from the intelligence data analysis system is incorporated into future flights. The F-35I creates “field mission data files” during each mission. The software can be updated based on lessons learned from each sortie. Thus, the system becomes “smarter” over time. The more combat missions it flies, the better.
The Adir also uses “frequency hopping” with its own indigenously developed jamming pod.
This feature is not present on other F-35s worldwide, and it was instrumental during the 12-day war in keeping Iranian air defenses blinded throughout the operation.
Can the F-35I Be Improved Again?
How could the Israelis make the F-35I even better? It will eventually be able to control an unmanned “Loyal Wingman.”
This is known as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) in the United States. Israel is certain to acquire this capability too. The CCA could also jam enemy radar with its own improved electronic warfare system. The CCA could also conduct battle damage assessments. This is extremely important when determining how much underground nuclear infrastructure targets are destroyed during missions.
Israel is a world leader in artificial intelligence. Look for this to be incorporated into the F-35I to make the software even better from the updatable mission data files. Ultra-rapid quantum computing could even be added to the F-35I someday.
Israeli pilots will become even smarter after thoroughly analyzing the Iranian missions. These lessons learned will be shared with F-15I and F-16I pilots who do not have stealthy airplanes, but they conduct follow-on strikes after the F-35Is suppress enemy air defenses.
F-35I Adir: Best Fighter on Earth?
The F-35I Adir should then be considered the world’s best fighter. The airplanes entered one of the densest air defense systems, slipped through heavy sensor traffic, destroyed essential targets, and then made it home safely.
The F-35I can claim to have led one of the most successful operations in modern times. This bodes well for other countries as they ponder which mission sets will be needed to defend airspace and bring the fight to the enemy with their own F-35s. The F-35I has made history and the Israelis should be proud of how they have transformed a perfect airplane into a great one.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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Krystal cane
October 27, 2025 at 6:57 pm
Is the message there okay with murdering children and shooting weapons in the hospital with this thing is that the message?