It has now come to light to light that Israel’s
F 35s had violated Iran’s air space in March 2018.
Kuwaiti daily Al Jarida reported on Saturday
that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamene has removed Islamic Republic of Iran
Air Force (IRIAF) commander Brigadier General
Farzad Ismail after he suppressed this incident.
Viewers may note that Farzad Ismail was replaced
by his deputy General Alireza Sabahi-Fard
on May 29.
The newspaper has also claimed that it was
the original media source that exposed the
Israeli raids.
Al Jarida cited senior Iranian military who
said that only following its March report
the intelligence services of the Revolutionary
Guards and the Iranian intelligence ministry
begin to investigate the case, under Khamenei’s
direct orders.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes Israel’s
F35 penetration of Iran’s Air Space.
Let’s get started.
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According to the newspaper’s investigation,
“the IAF F-35 “Adir” planes penetrated
Iran’s airspace, circled high above Tehran,
Karajrak, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Bandar Abbas.
Not only that they even photographed Iran’s
air defense system.
As per the sources, the elaborate Iranian
air defense system which includes Russian
radar failed to detect the entry and exit
of the fighter planes.
IRIAF commander Brigadier General Farzad Ismail
kept this incident secret so that his service's
failure was not exposed.
This may not have ever come into the public
domain if the Iranian intelligence didn’t
find it out.
Iranian intelligence got information that
the F 35s carried out a mission to test the
probability of carrying out an attack without
being detected.
In this mission, they even took images of
sensitive military bases that includes its
underground bases.
According to the Kuwaiti newspaper, Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene suspects
that there is a secret cooperation between
Israel and Russian which has made this possible.
It is interesting to note that it was in May
2018 when the IAF revealed that it has used
its stealth fighters in combat operations.
It made Israel the first country in the world
to carry out an “operational attack” using
the F-35.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a
single-seat, single-engine, all-weather multirole
fighters.
The Pentagon began the F 35 program in 2001
with an aim to develop a cost-effective replacement
for U.S military’s F 15 fighters, F 16 and
F 18 bombers and reconnaissance aircraft,
and A10 close air support warplanes.
Apart from the United States, the primary
customer, and financial backer, several other
nations are also part of the program.
Israel is the first country outside the U.S
to acquire them.
It has already got deliveries of several F
35s and has plans to acquire around 75 of
these.
The acquired jets are operated by the IAF’s
Golden Eagle Squadron which is based in the
Nevatim Air Base.
The F 35 deal is criticized by many inside
Israel since the cost is more than the price
at which U.S. Air Force is acquiring the jets.
This is mainly due to the fact that Israel’s
F 35s named F 35I Adir (meaning ‘Mighty')
are customized as per the requirements of
Israel Air Force and contains several indigenous
components.
Israel has maintained that the Lockheed Martin
F-35 is a “game-changer”.
Former Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman
had stated that “The F-35 squadrons are
the pinnacle of technology, and will assist
the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and air force
in meeting the many security challenges Israel
faces head-on.
They are a central aspect in protecting the
safety of the people of Israel along the country’s
borders and even away from them.”
F 35 is developed to be stealthy.
Its external structure is designed to deflect
radar signal away from the emitting radars.
Also, it has a coating of RAM (Radar Absorbing
Material) that reduces the number of signals
getting reflected.
F 35 does have certain compromises when compared
to F 22 Raptor.
Notably, F 35’s airframe is not as stealthy
as found in the F 22
• Against x-band radars, it is only stealthy
from front and rear
• Against S-band radar, it is stealthy from
the narrow front aspect
• Against L-band radar, the limited reduction
is achieved from direct front
It has a much greater reliance on radar-absorbing
materials to maintain its stealth profile.
But even with these shortcomings, it is a
still a very Low Observable (LO) platform.
Iran has several types of air defense systems
that include both short & medium range once,
some of these being indigenous while some
others being of foreign origin.
The indigenous once include Khordad series
systems.
It has recently showcased developed Khordad
15 which is thought to be far more advanced
than the Khordad 3.
Apart from these, Iran also has Russian made
S-300 which is its most potent air defense
system.
S 300 can be equipped with radars that are
claimed to have the capability to detect even
stealthy aircraft.
It is not clear if those radars actually work
as claimed and if Russia has provided them
to Iran or not.
Iran is thought to possess 4 batteries each
of S 300 P and S 300 PMU2.
It also has several S 200 batteries, some
of which have been enhanced indigenously.
Iran has several Russian made Tor point defense
system.
Iran is no pushover and its Air Defense is
fairly sophisticated.
F 35 penetrating Iran air space without even
being detected is a very big positive for
the F 35 program.
It is to be noted that detection only will
not enable a shoot down, continuous tracking
is needed for targeting a jet with Surface
to Air missile.
In this case even the basic that is the ‘detection’
has also not been achieved.
Many claims have been made by Russia & China
that they have radars that can detect stealthy
jets, the reality seems to be different.
The fighter seems to be able to do what it
was intended for - 'hit & return' without
the enemy knowing it was even there.
This is ominous signs for Iran since if a
conflict breaks out against the U.S, it will
have to face not only the F 35s but also F
22 Raptor & B2 Spirit which have even better
stealth profile.
On a larger context, F-35 Lightning II now
seems to be well in track to give America
& its allies a definite edge
The first Joint Strike Fighters were declared
combat-capable in July 2018.
The prices of all three variants—the F-35A
for the Air Force, F-35B for the Marines,
and F-35C for the Navy have dropped below
f $100 million per fighter.
In a recent deal in which U.S Air Force will
acquire 450 of these jets, the prices have
actually reduced to around $80 million per
F 35A.
F 35 program was aimed at reducing cost and
seems to be delivering on this aspect too.
The turnaround is happening even as Russia
& China are faltering with its own 5th generation
jets.
Russian president Mr. Putin revealed that
a procurement plan is being laid out for acquiring
76 Su-57.
These jets are expected to be deployed by
2028.
It currently has only 12 of these in flying
condition.
The Su 57 is still facing engine issue and
have unconvincing stealth characteristics.
China currently has only 28 Chengdu J-20 of
which 8 are initial prototypes.
Just like Su 57, the J-20 is having engine
problems.
The WS 10 engine which is currently installed
is underpowered and have reliability problems.
Its upgrade, the WS-15 is currently thought
to be in a ground-testing phase, though some
reports state that it has entered limited
production.
Without the WS-15 engine, the J-20 can't supercruise.
It also seems to have issues with ‘stealth’
like its Russian counterpart.
Reports have emerged that a Sukhoi Su-30MKI
of the Indian Air Force managed to detect it.
All in all, the scenario in the sky seems
to be grim for not only Iran but also Russia & China.
