Israel continues to fight Hamas and repel missile attacks from the Houthis in Yemen. The Defense Ministry showed how one of the missiles was shot down by an F-35 Lightning II fighter jet.

The video was recorded on November 2, 2023. The video shows a fifth-generation fighter jet intercepting a cruise missile flying toward Israel. This is probably another projectile launched by Iranian proxies. Earlier, the Houthis demonstrated ballistic missile and drone launches.


The Israeli version of the F-35A is called the F-35I Adir. This configuration has additional Israeli-made avionics, including a domestic electronic warfare system. As for the interception, the type of missile fired was not specified. It is possible that the fighter used an AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile.

The Israeli Air Force will become the second largest foreign operator of the F-35A Lighting II in the future. This will happen after the delivery of an additional batch of 25 aircraft ordered in the summer of 2023. The cost is estimated at $3 billion. Only Japan has more fifth-generation conventional takeoff fighters outside the United States.

It is worth noting that this is a historic event. The Israeli F-35 was the first to intercept the cruise missile.