An Israeli First: Operational Use of the New F-35 Jet Fighter

Israel scored another first in the realm of military technology when it became the first nation to use the new F-35 stealth fighter jet in a live operation. Speaking at the annual conference sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya (IDC), Air Force Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin said that when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard fired 32 missiles at Israel earlier in May, four incoming rounds were shot down by the Iron Dome anti-missile shield while the others, on trajectory to open spaces, failed to exit Syrian territory. According to Norkin, in all, more than 100 surface-to-air missiles were fired at Israeli aircraft flying in Syrian air space. The attack was launched in retaliation for a drone being sent into Israel by the Revolutionary Guard, marking the beginning of direct rather than proxy fighting between Israel and Iran. In addition to striking at Syrian targets, Israel retaliated by destroying a large section of Iranian military assets in Syria, including munitions storage and intelligence sites. Five Syrian Russian-made anti-aircraft defense batteries were destroyed, while at least 23 terrorists also perished in the attack.