"The F-35 is the fighter plane of the future that will allow Israel to maintain its aerial superiority and its technological advantage in the region... The F-35 will give the IAF better capabilities, both near and far, to help strengthen Israel's national security."
- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multirole aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air superiority fighter missions. The F-35 has three different models; one is the conventional takeoff and landing variant, the second is short takeoff and vertical-landing variant, and the third is a carrier-based variant.

The F-35 is descended from the X-35, the product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Its development is being principally funded by the United States, with the United Kingdom, and other partner governments providing additional funding. It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems as major partners. Demonstrator aircraft flew in 2000, with the first flight on December 15th, 2006.

Israel has gone ahead with an initial buy anyway, while negotiating to add key items. Israeli "F-35i Adir" fighters will include compatible communications systems and datalinks, and provisions to insert some locally-built ECM and defensive electronics.

Israel will also want to broaden the plane's weapons array to include Israeli weapons, as a subject of future agreements. Items mentioned in reports to date include Python short-range air-to-air missiles, and dual-mode guidance Spice GPS/IIR smart bombs. Those items are still being negotiated, and Israel's top-of-the-line strike fighter will need even more weapons than these in order to be fulfill its role.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of an Israeli Defense Force Lockheed-Martin F-35A "Adir" Joint Strike Fighter painted in a notional desert camouflage scheme and attached to the Tayeset 268 Squadron. Its not certain if the Israeli F-35s that participated in a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities wore this type of camouflage or the standard grey scheme that F-35s are typically painted. Its possible that by painting over the grey scheme a different color could compromise the stealth characteristics of the aircraft, which defeats the purpose of using these types of aircraft on deep penetration air strikes. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 5-3/4-inches
Length: 8-1/2-inches

Release Date: April 2026

Historical Account: "Rising Lion" - The Iran-Israel war, also known as the Twelve-Day War, was an armed conflict fought between Iran and Israel in June 2025, in the midst of the Gaza war and its broader regional spillover. It began when Israel launched surprise attacks on key military and nuclear facilities in Iran on June 13th, 2025. In the opening hours of the war, Israeli air and ground forces assassinated some of Iran's prominent military leaders, nuclear scientists, and politicians, as well as damaged or destroyed Iran's air defenses and some of its nuclear and military facilities. Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes throughout the war. Iran retaliated with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israeli cities and military sites; over 550 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 suicide drones were launched by Iran during the war. The Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen also fired several missiles at Israel, in an adjunct of the Red Sea crisis. The United States, which defended Israel against Iranian missiles and drones, took offensive action on the ninth day of the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a US base in Qatar. On June 24th, Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire after insistence from the US, following an appeal by Iran to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press US President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran.

The conflict is considered an escalation of decades-long animosity between Israel and Iran, including a proxy war, during which Iran challenged Israel's legitimacy and called for its destruction. It also follows more than a decade of international concern about Iran's nuclear program, which Israel considers an existential threat. In 2015, six countries negotiated with Iran the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal that lifted sanctions on Iran and froze Iran's nuclear program, but in 2018, US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from and voided the deal, after which Iran began stockpiling enriched uranium and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) lost most of its ability to monitor Iran's nuclear facilities. During the crisis in the Middle East that followed the October 7th attacks in 2023 and the ensuing Gaza war, Israel targeted groups such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both of which have varying relationships with Iran. While Hezbollah is widely recognized as an Iranian proxy, Hamas is a Sunni Islamist group that maintains operational independence and receives significant funding from Qatar in addition to some support from Iran. Direct conflict began in April 2024 when Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing senior Iranian officials, and the countries traded strikes in April and October. On June 12th, 2025, the IAEA passed a resolution drafted by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany that declared Iran non-compliant with its nuclear obligations. Israel began strikes the following day.