American fifth-generation F-35I fighter of the Israeli Air Force achieved its first air victory, defeating an iranian russian-made Yak-130 trainer-combat aircraft in aerial combat. Information about this incident appeared yesterday, with the first videos from the ground also appearing then.
Now the Israeli Air Force itself has published a video of the Yak-130 shootdown filmed from aboard the F-35I. Despite the F-35 being operated for 20 years, it had only previously shot down drones and cruise missiles, making the Yak-130 the first manned aircraft it has downed.
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The published video shows the Yak-130 in the F-35’s optical system sights. Given the situation in the video, one can assume the iranian pilot attempted to engage in aerial combat with the Israeli F-35.
This appears completely desperate, given that the Yak-130 lacks a radar station and for aerial combat can only have automatic cannons and short-range R-60M and R-73 air-to-air missiles. The Yak-130 had virtually no chance of victory over the F-35.
It remains unclear why the F-35 even allowed the Yak-130 to get so close, as it could have shot it down at over 100 km range using AIM-120 missiles. The likely answer to this question is that the Yak-130 hid behind terrain relief, as this is a mountainous region.
Which specific missile the F-35 used to intercept the Yak-130 remains unknown and cannot be determined from the published video. However, one can assume it was specifically AIM-9, given the short distance between aircraft.
The Yak-130 shootdown by F-35 also reveals much about iranian air defense state. The F-35 freely flies in Tehran skies, iran's capital, at relatively low altitude judging from the published video. Even considering stealth capabilities, this appears very confident in the absence of at least some air defense assets from the enemy.
Recall that iran began receiving Yak-130s only in 2023, though how many were transferred total as of now remains unknown. According to available information, this is the first loss of iranian Yak-130s as well as the first combat loss of Yak-130 overall throughout its entire existence.
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