Israel’s purchase of an additional tranche of advanced F-35 aircraft from Lockheed Martin is a major win for America’s ailing defense industrial base.
Just as the Pentagon had in recent weeks scaled back its order of F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation multirole stealth fighters, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has come in to save Lockheed Martin’s day.
That’s because, according to most reports, the Israeli variant of the American F-35, the F-35I “Adir” performed brilliantly against Iranian targets during the recent 12-Day War between Israel (and the United States) and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In essence, the Israelis are overjoyed with the planes, and want more of them.
There was real concern among American military analysts that the decline in orders for the F-35 might negatively harm Lockheed’s production line—which might have negatively impacted the American line of F-35s, causing per-unit production costs to go up. But the purchase by Israel is boosting that overall production line—at least outwardly.
“The Mighty One”: Israel’s F-35I Adir in Action
Adir, short for “Mighty One” in Hebrew, is a customized variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. Israel was the first nation outside the F-35’s nine-nation co-development group to acquire the bird, signing a Letter of Agreement in October 2010 through the US Foreign Military Sales process. The initial F-35I was delivered six years thereafter, in December 2016, and the fleet was declared operational a year later. As of 2025, Israel operates 46 F-35Is across three squadrons (140th, 116th, and 117th) at Nevatim Airbase.
With the new deal signed between Israel and the United States, Jerusalem plans to expand that force to 75 by 2030.
Unlike other F-35 operators, Israel received unique US approval to integrate indigenous technologies into the airframe. Elbit Systems’ electronic warfare (EW) suite replaced the standard BAE Systems suite, with advanced sensors and countermeasures for enhanced survivability in contested environments that were specific to the Israeli strategic needs. The main computer supports integration of Israeli-made weapons and systems, such as Python-5 air-to-air missiles,SPICE precision-guided munitions, and one-ton penetration bombs.
Israeli-designed command, control, communications, and intelligence (C4I) systems enhance data sharing and network-centric warfare. Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) manufactures the aircraft’s outer wings, and Elbit Systems produces helmet-mounted displays with advanced night vision and head-tracking capabilities.
The F-35I retains the F-35A’s stealth features, including radar-absorbent materials and internal weapon bays for up to 18,000 pounds of ordnance in “beast mode.” A secret modification, reportedly involving drop tanks, extends its combat range (to about 700 miles standard). This is vital because Israel’s main enemy, Iran, is far away; the ability of the Adir to strike Iran without mid-air refueling, all while maintaining stealth, is vital.
By the way, “beast mode” has to do with the fact that Israel is the only F-35I with external Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), sacrificing some stealth for increased payload in specific missions—a capability developed with Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon.
The F-35I’s stealth, sensor fusion, and electronic warfare capabilities ensure Israel’s air superiority against regional threats like Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. They have also been used to strike distant Houthi rebel targets in Yemen. The Adir’s ability to penetrate advanced air defenses, such as Russian S-300 systems, and conduct long-range precision strikes makes it a key deterrent against Iran’s nuclear weapons program and their aforementioned proxy groups.
Just How Mighty Is the “Mighty One,” Though?
Undoubtedly, the F-35I has given the IAF a significant capabilities advantage over their regional rivals. Even in the case of Arab states, who are nominally aligned with the United States and Israel, Jerusalem insists to their American counterparts that the Arabs’ access to the F-35 be limited.
As word gets out that the Trump administration might be reversing its 2019 decision to disallow Turkey from entering the F-35 program, Jerusalem now has to worry about its decisive advantages over other regional powers may be eroding.
At the same time, Israeli modifications to the F-35I make their variant quite unique. This has not stopped the Israeli government over the years from complaining about how the Americans stiffed them on the F-35I. According to former CIA counterterrorism officer John Kiriakou, the Israelis would routinely complain to their CIA and US Defense Department counterparts about their suspicions that the Americans were holding out when it came to selling Israel the most advanced variant of the F-35. These claims are untrue; if anything, the Americans gave the Israelis a version of the F-35 that surpasses even the ones given to NATO allies. With all the indigenous additions made by Israel to their F-35s, they might have a more advanced variant than even the Americans possess!
To further complicate matters, the F-35I is based exclusively at Israel’s Nevatim Airbase, located in Israel’s southern Negev Desert. Everyone in the region knows this. And by housing their F-35I fleet at this one airbase, the Israelis are making those birds susceptible to damage or outright destruction.
Even losing a handful of these birds would be highly detrimental to the IAF. So it is hardly surprising that during one of the recent rounds of fighting between Israel and Iran, the Iranians targeted Nevatim with their missile fusillade.
Officially, the Israelis denied that Iranian missiles had struck Nevatim—and claimed that all the F-35Is there had been put in the air, as the Israelis knew that Iranian missiles were inbound. Nevertheless, some photos of the damage to Nevatim made it to the internet—and the damage to the base seems to have been significant.
The F-35I Played a Small Role in Israel’s Recent War with Iran
While no F-35Is were known to be lost from those attacks, the F-35Is are maintained in those hangars at Nevatim. And if the social media postings are accurate, the hangars are what were damaged back in October 2024.
So, it is likely that at least for a period of time last year, the F-35Is were displaced from their usual base—and presumably had to go through extra steps to be serviced properly until Nevatim could be repaired and the maintenance line there restored fully.
Of course, the F-35I likely had some role in the skies over Iran during “Operation Rising Lion,” the airstrikes that opened the 12-Day War. But Jerusalem’s claims of the plane’s invincibility during that operation can be questioned to some degree. The F-35Is escaped unscathed—but much of this came about due to Mossad sabotage of Tehran’s air defense grid, Israeli drones fired from neighboring Azerbaijan, and standoff weapons from F-35Is at beyond-visual-range (BVR) in neighboring Iraq, rather than due to any unique attributes of the Adir.
Undoubtedly, the Israelis completely overwhelmed Iran’s AD network, stunted the Iranian missile threat, and brilliantly stymied Iran’s command-and-control capabilities at least for the first 72 hours of the conflict. These moves by Israel bought significant time for the Israelis and the Americans to run roughshod over the Iranian system. But the idea that the bulk of these successful strikes were conducted by Israeli F-35Is flying over contested Iranian airspace during the war is ridiculous. It seems highly unlikely that Israel would risk the precious warbirds unless it was absolutely certain of success.
In short, the Israelis enjoyed great strategic success over their Iranian foes. But the 12-Day War was not a conflict dominated by the F-35I. It was a conflict defined by the strategic brilliance and tactical effectiveness of Israeli guile and military science.
Still, the F-35I is Israel’s best warplane. And the Israeli purchase of an additional tranche of these planes from Lockheed Martin’s F-35Is is a major win for the ailing defense industrial bases of both the United States and Israel.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
