Was the F-35 Stealth Fighter Really Hit by a Missile Made in Russia?

Summary and Key Points: In 2017 there were rumors that an Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet was shot down by a Soviet-made S-200 missile fired by the Syrian Defense Forces.

-These allegations were denied by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who said that an anti-aircraft missile was fired but missed its target.

• The IDF attacked a Syrian SAM battery in retaliation.

-Israeli media revealed that two weeks ago, an F-35I was damaged by a bird strike.

Given that a highly modified and specialized model of Israel’s F-35I Adir entered service in 2018, it is suspected that the aircraft may have been hit by a missile in 2017. In fact, it seems that this statement is just online gossip. .

Did a Syrian Missile Really Hit an Israeli F-35? The True Story

According to a widely published account from 2017, Syrian defense forces fired a Soviet-made S-200 missile that hit an F-35 fighter jet operated by the Israeli Air Force.

The Syrian army’s most sophisticated long-range anti-aircraft weapon at the time was the S-200 missile, developed in the 1960s.

In a quick response to the allegations on social media, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an anti-aircraft missile was fired from Syria at one of its airframes, but the attack was not successful.

The IDF retaliated by targeting a Syrian SAM battery near Damascus. Later that day, Israeli media revealed that two weeks earlier, one of their F-35I aircraft had been damaged in a bird strike. When the plane touched down safely, the IDF was uncertain whether or not it would remain operational.

Israel’s Privileged F-35I Adir Stealth Fighter 

The Jewish state purchased the F-35 in 2010, becoming the first nation outside the nine-member co-development group to do so. Currently, the most sophisticated fighter jet in the sky is the US-made stealth aircraft. In the coming years, Israel has promised to buy a total of 50 F-35s.

The first F-35 was delivered to the Jewish state in 2016. The F-35 in Israel is a special, highly customized model. Israel succeeded because Lockheed-Martin refused to make significant client-state modifications to the F-35, and as a result, the procurement was eventually allowed to use indigenous military firms.

The F-35I Adir’s advanced digital architecture, including its communications systems, mission control hardware, and suite of electronic warfare and surveillance capabilities, is fully accessible to the Israeli Air Force and can be externally modified. Jamming pods are one of the “plug-and-play” defensive countermeasures that Israel’s Air Force can equip its fighter jets with. Furthermore, the Rafale SPICE EO/GPS guided bomb and an Israeli-designed cruise missile were among the indigenous weapon options available on Israel’s Adir version.

In 2018, Israel became the first nation to launch the F-35 variant into combat. This is a significant date since 2017, when Israel’s fifth-generation fighter jets were downed. It was highly unusual for the IDF’s new F-35I fleet to be allowed to fly near the Syrian border before its operational standards were met. This story is probably untrue, despite the Syrian military’s claim that “air defenses responded (to Israeli warplanes) and directly hit one of the jets, forcing the enemy to retreat.”

IDF In the Air

Regarding the damaged F-35I, the IDF maintained its earlier statement. According to confirmation from Israeli military sources, “During a training sortie, the aircraft sustained two hits after a collision with a bird.” The aircraft was sent for routine maintenance and repair after inspection and assessment of the damage in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer. It will resume full service in the coming days.

It appears that despite dubious “evidence” and improbable circumstances, an Israeli F-35 was not hit by a Russian-made missile in Syria. Currently, the core of the IDF’s air force is a fleet of fifth-generation stealth fighters.

About the Author: Maya Carlin 

Maya Carlin is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel.

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