Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the commander of the Nevatim Airbase, where the IAF\u2019s F-35 jets are housed, said, \u201cWe identified the plane, locked on it and launched [a missile].\u201d<\/p>\n
“\u05d1\u05d9\u05e6\u05e2\u05ea\u05d9, \u05d4\u05de\u05d8\u05e8\u05d4 \u05e0\u05e4\u05dc\u05d4, \u05e0\u05de\u05e9\u05d9\u05da \u05dc\u05ea\u05e7\u05d9\u05e4\u05d4”: \u05ea\u05d9\u05e2\u05d5\u05d3 \u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d5\u05df \u05de\u05de\u05d8\u05d5\u05e1 \u05d4\u05f4\u05d0\u05d3\u05d9\u05e8\u05f4 (F-35I) \u05de\u05e4\u05d9\u05dc \u05de\u05d8\u05d5\u05e1 \u05e7\u05e8\u05d1 \u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d0\u05e0\u05d9 (YAK-130) \u05de\u05e2\u05dc \u05e9\u05de\u05d9 \u05d8\u05d4\u05e8\u05df.<\/p>\n
\u05d7\u05d9\u05dc-\u05d4\u05d0\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05e8 \u05de\u05de\u05e9\u05d9\u05da \u05dc\u05ea\u05e7\u05d5\u05e3 \u05e2\u05e9\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea \u05ea\u05e9\u05ea\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea \u05e9\u05dc \u05de\u05e9\u05d8\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d8\u05e8\u05d5\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05d0\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d5\u05e1\u05d5\u05dc\u05dc \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05d3\u05e8\u05da \u05dc\u05d9\u05e6\u05d9\u05e8\u05ea \u05e2\u05dc\u05d9\u05d5\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d0\u05d5\u05d5\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05ea \u05d1\u05e9\u05de\u05d9 \u05d8\u05d4\u05e8\u05df. pic.twitter.com\/RGUX4x1bFK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Iranian plane endangered [our] aircraft. It could have hit our plane, so we shot it down,\u201d Brig. Gen. \u201cDaled,\u201d identified only by his rank and first initial in Hebrew, said.\n<\/p>\n The airbase commander said that F-35 that fired the missile was in the midst of targeting Iranian regime sites in Tehran. He said the F-35 \u201cknows how to do this very quickly and accurately.\u201d<\/p>\n The pilot who shot down the Iranian aircraft was relatively junior in the force but this was not his first flight in Iran, according to the airbase commander.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThe Iranian Air Force understands that it is inferior and under significant threat. Despite this, it is trying with its remaining capabilities to carry out missions that will disrupt us. That was the situation that led to the shootdown,\u201d the airbase commander said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe encounter the enemy during our sorties in Iran, but it is a weak enemy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Footage posted to social media on Wednesday showed the jet crashing over the Lavasan Mountains, just north of Tehran.<\/p>\n NOW: Video shows an aircraft crashing over Tehran, north of the Lavasan Mountains. pic.twitter.com\/ahX9ylfs6W<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Defence Index (@Defence_Index) March 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The IAF was expected to mark the F-35I with a \u201cvictory mark,\u201d a small decal on the side of the plane to denote the achievement of the pilot and plane.\n<\/p>\n It would potentially be the first time in nearly two decades that the IAF has added a victory mark to a plane.<\/p>\n In 2007, the military marked fighter jets that participated in strikes on Syria\u2019s nuclear reactor, in a mission known to much of the world as Operation Orchard, and in the IDF as Outside the Box.<\/p>\n \t The Yak-130, initially developed jointly by Russian aircraft manufacturer Yakovlev and Italian firm Aermacchi, is a jet trainer and light combat aircraft.<\/p>\n Development on the plane began in the 1990s.<\/p>\n In 2000, the Russian and Italian aircraft manufacturers ended their partnership, with each going on to develop their own version of the plane.<\/p>\n The Russian Yak-130 was first introduced into service by the Russian Air Force in 2010, and the Italian version of the plane, the M-346 Master, entered service in the Italian Air Force in 2015.<\/p>\n The M-346 Master is also in use by the Israeli Air Force as a jet trainer, and it is known in Hebrew as the Lavi.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThis handout picture provided by the Iranian Army office on September 2, 2023 shows a Yak-130 training aircraft at an airbase in Iran (Iranian Army office \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/b4e7fbda-3a8d-4b5a-a208-0d920df69db6-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tAn Israeli Air Force F-35I fighter jet takes off from an airbase in Israel for strikes in Iran, in a handout photo published on March 4, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n
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