Hassan Fakih
The defence correspondent of Tasnim News Agency, on 13 June, reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran successfully shot down two fighter jets belonging to the Zionist regime and took one female pilot captive.
“The air defence force of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army successfully targeted and destroyed two F-35 fighter jets of the Zionist regime, along with a large number of drones,” a statement by the Iranian armed forces to the publication read.
This makes Iran the first country to successfully down fifth-generation fighters. This feat deals a significant blow not only to the Israeli regime invading its airspace but to the American military industry, which prides itself on the security of its aviation products.
In the days since this initial incident reported by Iranian media, jets seemed to be falling out of the sky as more news of Iranian air defences downing F-35 fighters emerged.
The Iranian Army’s Public Relations Office on 14 June reported a third jet being shot down by the Islamic Republic’s air defence, highlighting that the ejected pilot was captured by Iranian security forces and taken captive.
Similarly, on Monday, 16 June, and Tuesday, 17 June, reports circulated that two additional F-35s were targeted and downed, bringing the total number of jets downed to four since the beginning of this battle.
This US-made fighter jet is considered the pinnacle of its class. The War Zone reported on the F-35’s numerous stealth features, which make its survivability in battle second to none.
The outlet notes its highly advanced AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare system, which provides long-range, 360-degree, full-spectrum situational awareness and rapid-response capabilities. Additionally, the jet features antennas along its wings and beneath the skin to detect enemy emitters electronically, which it may otherwise struggle to evade due to the range of its target.
“This same electronic warfare suite and the jet’s high degree of sensor fusion offer F-35 pilots the ability to make rapid decisions regarding their survivability on the fly,” the report reads.
The outlet notes a vulnerability in the rear of the jet, which is seen as “a bit controversial” due to its perceived radar cross-section being larger than desirable, “possibly leaving it vulnerable to detection and even engagement from rear aspects.”
This is likely the exploit Iran used in its attacks. Iranian media states that the technology used to target these jets was the Bavar-373 surface-to-air missile system, a competitor to the Soviet S-300 and Russian S-400 systems.
Due to the major infowar going on in this battle, it is hard to find confirmation of Iran’s downing of these jets; images circling online and through various social media platforms are either AI, video game recordings, or old photos of downed jets.
But, Iranian diplomat Amir al-Moussawi gave some reassuring news to confirm the downing of these Israeli fighters by stating on 17 June that one of the pilots captured by Iran will soon deliver televised confessions that will “shake the entity.”
“The Israeli pilot will have her confessions broadcast on Iranian television. These confessions will shake the entity—it will be known where the planes were refuelled and where they took off,” Al-Moussawi said.
Iran’s downing of these fighter jets is another point in the recent trend of incidents that show the Israeli army’s. Subsequently, the rest of the West is witnessing the end of uncontested air superiority in the West Asian region.
During the aggression on Yemen, Ansar Allah dealt blows to the American armed forces’ aggression on the Arab nation, taking out two F/A-18 Super Hornets fighters and several MQ-9 drones, costing US taxpayers millions.
Ansar Allah was also able to force US forces to flee after Yemeni air defence projectiles “nearly struck” US manned F-35 jets, “making real the possibility of American casualties,” multiple US officials warned.
Hezbollah, for its part as a political party (not a national army like that of Iran and Yemen), was able to get its air defences capabilities effective enough to force Israeli jets to retreat from Lebanese airspace.
Part of their statement on 25 September 2024, announcing the air defence operation, reads, “The air defence units of the Islamic Resistance confronted two enemy warplanes off the towns of Houla and Mays al-Jabal […] with appropriate weapons, forcing them to leave Lebanese airspace.”
Resistance forces in West Asia don’t have the same sophistication as the Israeli army and their American backers. Iran’s air defences aren’t as robust as Israel’s four-layered air defence. The Yemenis still use the S300 system, and Hezbollah is using shoulder-fired MANPADS like the Iranian-made Igla and Mithaq 2 and 3. Thus, the Israeli regime has long held onto its air power as its main military force. Using its planes to cause mass death and destruction for the sake of carrying out its expansionist goals.
When it comes to its naval force, Hezbollah’s blow in 2006 against the INS Hanit forced the Zionists out of Lebanese waters, and technological advancements in drone technology and Yemen regarding their kamikaze boats, the naval field is all but exposed.
The Israeli ground forces are mainly for show, as we’ve seen them getting dominated on the Lebanon and Gaza fronts through guerrilla warfare tactics that the Israeli troops will never be prepared for.
All Israel has left is its air force for reliance, and now that Iran has shown that it’s capable of taking down one of their jets, let alone five, Israel is feeling an increased level of anxiety.
Hebrew news outlet Israel Hayom reported on 17 June a three-month-long research and development war planning meeting between 120 Experts and Unit 8200 on a strike in Iran that occurred back in January of this year. In it, the group highlighted the necessity for air dominance over Iran.
“If the war in Iran is like a car, then the keys to the car are aerial superiority,” the military experts said. “This was the greatest challenge facing the military — the critical question of whether it would be able to develop and establish full aerial dominance and open an ‘expressway in the skies of Iran,’ as Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu described it, in the face of Iran’s advanced air defence systems.”
The report added that “Without aerial superiority, the IDF simply has no operational capability in Iran,” highlighting the critical need for air dominance.
Now that Iran has shown its air defence capabilities, it has crushed a significant pillar in Israel’s perceived strength against the Islamic Republic. To rectify its shattered image, the Israeli regime has resorted to publishing videos of their airforce destroying dummy launch sites and old decommissioned Iranian planes. Still, when that failed to derail public support for the Islamic Republic, while at the same time, Iranian strikes proved to be immensely successful – striking key cities and military objects within the Zionist entity – Israel opted for a complete media blackout, threatening to arrest settlers and journalists alike for publishing media of the largely successful Iranian strikes.
Where the Israeli have imposed this total military censorship, Iranian news channels continue to show Iranian air defences breaking the alleged uncontested Zionist air superiority narrative by shooting down the projectiles being launched at Iranian cities.
American jets have now entered the region, landing at an airbase in Saudi Arabia. But it seems that given the once unknown potential of the Iranian air force power, Washington will now have to think twice before sending their fighters into Iranian territory.
Hassan Fakih is a writer and journalist who has appeared in Al-Mayadeen, Basira Press, and more.
