Tel Aviv: The two Israeli air force (IAF) F-35 that last year shot down two Iranian UAV were not marked as is customary when a fighter aircraft shoots down an enemy aerial threat.
The decision not to put the special stickers on the fuselage of the F-35 was made according to experts in order not the harm the aircraft’s stealth features. The experts said that every detail, even the smallest that they would add to the plane could impair its stealthy capabilities.
As reported by Raksha Anirveda, Operation ‘Two Bridges’ was performed on May 2021. The details were uncovered earlier this week. The detection of the two UAV was made by a combination of an IAF AEW aircraft, and ground radars. The Shahad 197 has a wingspan of 2.5 meters, a maximum speed of120 km/h and a range of 3000 km.
After the two UAV’s were shot down with air-air missiles launched by the F-35, the purpose of the mission became clear- they carried pistols for two terror organizations operating in the middle east as proxies of Iran.
According to the IAF, the F-35 radar and other sensors make the aircraft the ideal one for such missions. “We anticipated the threat and made some changes that improved the aircraft capabilities in this type of mission,” one IAF senior officer said.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
