With the threat of war still looming over West Asia, three new F-35I Adir stealth fighter jets landed at Nevatim Air Base in Israel last week. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) also disclosed some intriguing details about the stealth fighter’s use in bombing operations.
The IAF announced that the three F-35I Adir jets delivered last week will join the 116th squadron, bringing the total number of aircraft in the IAF to 42.
Israel initially ordered 50 F-35 Lighting II fighters from Lockheed Martin, supplemented by another order for 25 in 2023. The IAF operates a modified version of the F-35, called the F-35I “Adir,” which has been tailored to meet Israel’s specific operational requirements.
While about 20 countries have purchased the fifth-generation F-35 stealth aircraft, Israel became the first state to use the aircraft in combat when it launched offensive operations against targets in Syria in 2018.
More recently, in its latest conflicts with Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran, the F-35 has undertaken over 15,000 flight hours on all fronts, as noted by the IAF.
However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have revealed a rather intriguing detail about the use of the aircraft in recent bombing operations: the aircraft conducted air strikes while carrying weapons externally.
Stealth aircraft, like the F-35, typically use a weapons bay to conceal the weapons within their fuselage, reduce radar cross-section area, and improve aerodynamics. An aircraft armed with external long-range missiles on hard points under its wings—called the beast mode—certainly has more firepower, but due to the increased radar cross-section (RCS) area, it is far more discoverable to hostile air defenses.
While the F-35 Lighting II had earlier appeared carrying a full range of weapons and a larger payload on external hard points to expand its offensive capability, this may be the first time in the world that an F-35 aircraft has flown in beast mode during combat. However, Israel did not disclose which bombing mission the F-35I Adir undertook while carrying weapons externally.
It is intriguing why Israel chose to fly its stealth aircraft in nearly non-stealth mode despite having F-15s and F-16s in its inventory that the IAF has regularly deployed for carrying out its bombing operations.
Given that Iran and its allies possess decent, if not sophisticated, air defense systems and portable air defense weapons, the EurAsian Times asked an analyst under what circumstances Israel would find it reasonable to launch a costly, state-of-the-art F-35I Adir in “Beast Mode.”
Air Marshal Anil Khosla (Retired), an Indian Air Force veteran, told EurAsian Times that Israel’s use of the F-35 in beast mode likely depends on the specific operational environment and objectives.
Air Marshal Khosla listed a few scenarios under which the beast mode could be used: “First, the enemy has no air defense capability or weapon; second, SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defences) missions have degraded the enemy’s radar and SAM capabilities; third by staying out of the enemy Air defense weapons range. This can be done by intelligence-supported operational planning and/or stand-off attacks; and fourth, using escort and suppression support from electronic warfare platforms to mitigate the risks of flying in beast mode.”
The expert further noted that Israeli F-35 would not need stealth characteristics while conducting bombing in Gaza, which is home to Hamas. He asserted that Hezbollah (a Lebanon-based militia) has comparatively more advanced air defense capabilities than Hamas, including Iranian-made radars and some older Russian surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).
He highlighted that Beast Mode can be used in a medium-risk environment by avoiding enemy air defenses. However, Air Marshal Khosla says Iran presents a different challenge.
“Iran operates a more sophisticated air defense network. Using beast mode over Iran would be risky because the F-35 would be much more visible on Iranian radar, and Iran’s long-range SAMs could engage the aircraft before it reaches the target. The beast mode can be used in a high-risk environment after neutralizing enemy air defenses,” he added.
Israeli F-35 Carries JDAM Externally
The weapon that was mounted externally was the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). The IAF said in a post on X that during the conflict, it modified its F-35 aircraft to fire JDAM bombs from its wings rather than its belly, which was the aircraft’s original configuration.
“During the war, the Flight Test Center (FTC), in collaboration with Lockheed Martin and the F-35 program at the Pentagon, developed a new capability to carry external JDAM weapons on the aircraft’s wings,” the IAF said in a statement. However, it did not reveal more specific information about the upgrades that had been provided to the aircraft.
For one, it is not new for an F-35 to carry weapons under its pylon. Although the precise configuration is unknown, an IAF photo posted on X (as shown below) depicts the F-35I assigned to the Flight Test Center with four external 2,000-pound class GBU-31 JDAMs.
The GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kit transforms unguided free-fall bombs into precise, all-weather weapons—a capability the IAF may have needed to decimate its enemies in multiple directions.
Typically, an F-35A 5th Generation fighter is designed to carry a payload of up to 18,000 pounds using 10 weapon stations. The F-35A features four internal weapon stations located in two weapon bays to maximize stealth capability. According to the US Air Force, the aircraft can also utilize an additional three external weapon stations per wing if required.
Using JDAM from external pylons of an Israeli F-35I Adir is an interesting development but hardly surprising. For one, the F-35I Adir is set apart from other fighter variants of the F-35 by the extent of customization and technological enhancements implemented by Israel based on its unique requirements.
Israel is one of the few countries that was allowed to modify the US-made fifth-generation fighter aircraft on a precondition that nothing inside the aircraft would be changed, and the Israelis were allowed to add capabilities to the existing infrastructure. The Israeli F-35s are modified in these main areas: command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I), electronic warfare, and weapons integration, as previously explained by the EurAsian Times.
The aircraft features a powerful electronic warfare system (EWS) and other modifications specifically designed to meet Israel’s unique security needs. Israeli-made sensors, countermeasures, and helmet-mounted displays further augment the F-35I’s capabilities.
The Adir is outfitted with sensors and countermeasures manufactured domestically, as well as an indigenous electronic warfare system (EWS). The platform is perfect for carrying out a strike because its sophisticated electronics suite enables pilots to interfere with the electronics and guidance systems of enemy ground-fired anti-aircraft weapons.
The IAF needs a customized EWS system because its main enemies are non-state players like Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as regional proxy groups that are unable to match its aerial capabilities. By identifying potentially dangerous or hostile frequencies, these systems allow pilots to interfere with or take down enemy communications or weapon guidance systems.
Earlier, Israel also stated that it had devised a way to increase the F-35Is’ range, giving them the ability to strike targets in Iran without requiring aerial refueling, albeit without revealing how it had achieved the feat.
One quartet of Adir aircraft can strike up to 60 targets, with a single F-35 carrying various smart bombs that can be released from hundreds of kilometers away from the target. A couple of years ago, the IAF added a new one-ton bomb to the arsenal of armaments used by F-35s that can be placed within the plane’s internal weapons bay without compromising the plane’s stealth radar signature.
Israel’s F-35 fleet gives it a distinct edge, with the US consistently providing maintenance and abundant spare parts.
Being the only nation with its own sustainment and upgrade system, Israel can test and implement changes, including software updates, on its own. The IAF even has a specially configured test F-35 to facilitate these efforts that facilitate autonomy, allowing Israel to continually refine and enhance the aircraft’s performance.
The Pentagon, however, has offered unconditional support to Israel in its war against the Axis powers led by Iran. As highlighted by IAF: “In collaboration with Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon’s F-35 program, developed a capability for external JDAM carriage.”
For now, we know that not only is Israel the first and only country to use the F-35 in combat, but it has also become the only country to use the aircraft in beast mode to launch combat operations.
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