Key Points and Summary: Israel’s F-35I Adir is a uniquely modified version of the F-35A, tailored to meet Israeli Air Force (IAF) requirements.
-Unlike standard F-35s, the Adir features advanced Israeli-developed electronic warfare (EW), C4I systems, and custom weapons integration.
-While the U.S. restricted internal modifications, Israel secured the ability to add external enhancements that interface with the aircraft’s digital infrastructure.
-The IAF also maintains its fleet domestically, reducing operational costs. As the first nation to use the F-35 in combat, Israel has demonstrated its ability to penetrate advanced air defenses, solidifying the Adir’s role as a dominant stealth attack platform.
THOSE 4 WORDS: USAF Can’t Fly This.
Why Israel’s F-35I Adir Is the World’s Most Battle-Tested Stealth Fighter
Given Israel’s more than 50-year history of procuring only US-made fighter aircraft, it was long expected for the Middle East’s only democracy to become a user of the F-35.
The single-engine aircraft is a logical follow-up to the several acquisitions by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) of F-16A/B and C/D versions.
It follows the precedent set by more than one F-16 customer nation deciding to “trade-up” by retiring their 4th-generation fighters and transitioning to the F-35.
As with the F-16s, it was also anticipated that the Israel version of the aircraft would significantly differ from the standard USAF F-35A.
These variations are as extensive or greater than the F-16s acquired by Israel in later batches specially configured to meet specific Israeli requirements.
One of the later models of the F-16s acquired by Israel, nicknamed Barack, or “lightning” was extensively modified with the addition of so many Israeli-made avionics and other on-board systems that the maximum takeoff weight was increased to 21,770 kg – 4,760 kg more than the standard version.
In order for the aircraft to land safely at the significantly greater weight adjustment had to be made to strengthen the tolerances of the landing gear.
F-35: Designed to Be Modified
The extent of the modifications in this version even gave cause for a different (non-official) designation, with this IAF F-16D version labeled “IF-16D.”
The big difference between how the IAF special variants of the F-16s and those of the F-35 were/are developed is due to the simple fact that the F-16 was initially designed as a USAF aircraft and export considerations beyond the original European Participating Governments (EPG) consortium members was not major design-driving requirements.
This meant any additions to the airframe of the Israeli-made kit either had to be made as an afterthought – a replacement of some original on-board system with Israel-made equipment or with that system somehow being “shoehorned” in someplace else.
The enlarged spine of these later F-16 batches produced in the US at the Fort Worth plant, which provided extra space explicitly made for Israeli avionics and EW systems, is a perfect example.
In contrast, the F-35 was designed from Day One, considering the individual requirements of customers who have requested significant modifications in the past.
At the top of this list is Israel and Singapore, although this relationship is never advertised and kept as quiet as possible.
The island city-state usually adopts many of the changes Israel has made to the same hardware that it procures from the US – as it has in the past with the F-16.
The F-35I Adir, Explained
The nickname given to the Israeli F-35 is Adir, or “mighty one” in Hebrew. According to a Lockheed Martin spokesman, the IAF’s F-35s will differ from the standard configuration in three significant aspects:
-Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and intelligence (C4I) linkages
-Electronic warfare
-Weapons integration
Israel is one of the few aircraft users permitted to modify the aircraft in any meaningful respect. That makes the F-35I Adir truly unique.
The IAF had originally wanted to make somewhat invasive changes to the internal systems.
But Washington barred the Israeli proposals for deleting anything inside the F-35I Adir to be substituted with their kit.
Instead, the compromise permits the Israelis to add on any capabilities to the aircraft that can be adjunct functionality to the existing digital infrastructure.
One of the largest Israeli defense firms, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), was originally contracted to provide a C4I overlay for the F-35 in cooperation with Lockheed Martin.
Israel has also had reservations about the long-term viability of the F-35’s stealth signature and its survivability being eroded. This is a consequence of adversary air defense systems improving over time.
For those reasons, Israel wanted to install its own EW suite into the F-35I Adir, which the US objected to. The compromise reached is that the Elbit Systems hardware developed for this function would be another add-on that could “plug in” to the aircraft’s Main Mission Computer (MMC).
A third privilege not extended to many F-35 customers that Israel will enjoy is that maintenance on the aircraft will be performed in-country.
As the Jerusalem Post reported at the beginning of the program, “other countries that purchased the aircraft will have the maintenance done at regional centers, often outside their borders.”
This is a considerable savings to Israel as maintenance performed off-shore can cause operational costs to mushroom.
Israel was the first country to use the F-35I Adir in combat, with a remarkable record of successfully penetrating enemy air defense networks.
It is a prelude to the future success of the aircraft as a stealthy attack platform in the coming decades.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is now an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
