JERUSALEM \u2014 Israel will develop a system for extending the range of its F-35I \u2018Adir\u2019 fighter jets, Israel\u2019s defense ministry announced May 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials didn\u2019t specify a target range for the upgraded aircraft. The F-35A \u2014 the model on which the Israeli version is based \u2014 currently has a range of 1,200 miles, as stated on the manufacturer\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the ministry mentioned that the development and implementation will involve adapting external fuel tanks based on an existing Cyclone design of the F-16I \u201cSufa,\u201d Israel\u2019s variant of the F-16, which has a reported range of approximately 1,300 miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elbit Systems was awarded the development contract, valued at approximately $34 million (100 million NIS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement comes amid a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran, and roughly a month after the Israeli military operation \u201cLion\u2019s Roar,\u201d in which the Israeli Air Force struck targets deep inside Iran. During that operation, an F-35I scored the first air-to-air kill ever credited to an F-35 in combat, shooting down an Iranian Yak-130 \u2014 a Russian-built jet trainer used in a light-attack role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel currently operates 50 F-35I aircraft across two squadrons. It is beginning to take delivery of 25 additional jets ordered in 2023, and earlier this month announced the opening of negotiations to purchase 25 more \u2014 a move that would bring the total fleet to 100 aircraft and expand Israel\u2019s F-35I force to four squadrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The F-35I \u201cAdir\u201d is a fifth-generation multi-mission stealth fighter aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin and used by the Israeli Air Force as a model specifically tailored to its requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aircraft combines stealth technologies, advanced data fusion, the ability to carry internal weapons, and includes Israeli-made electronic warfare, communications, and computing systems, which are embedded in the American infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Elbit Systems was awarded the development contract, valued at approximately $34 million (100 million NIS).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":117322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":47,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,11,47,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3455],"class_list":["post-72739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-mideast-africa","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"AMNLWZW5XJEWRC6HIPBLX7UIXQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/mideast-africa\/2026\/05\/14\/israel-to-extend-f-35i-range-amid-war-with-iran\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n