The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed on Wednesday that Adir, its F-35I fighter jet, had shot down a YAK-130 aircraft belonging to the Iranian Air Force over the skies of Tehran.
"This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 Adir fighter jet," the IDF added in an X post on the fifth day of the conflict between Iran and US-Israel forces.
Notably, Iran's subsonic two-seat light combat aircraft (LCA) and jet trainer, originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi, has an interesting Israeli connection.
This is because Iran's YAK-130 aircraft and the M-346 Master, used by Israel, both have a common ancestor—the formidable Yak/AEM-130 Technology Demonstrator, which first took flight in April 1996.
The story dates back to 1993, when Italian aircraft manufacturer Aermacchi teamed up with Russia’s Yakovlev Design Bureau to develop an advanced military jet trainer after the Cold War.
The result was the Yak/AEM-130, a formidable Russo-Italian fighter jet trainer that was revolutionary because of its high-alpha (angle of attack) capability.
However, the collaboration did not last, and was dissolved just four years after its first flight and seven years after it began due to a dispute over engine selection.
This split led Yakovlev to later develop the YAK-130, while Aermacchi pursued the M-346 Master. The latter made its first flight on July 15, 2004, paving the path for developments that would eventually make it a world-renowned fighter jet trainer.
Then in July 2012, a major contract was signed between Finmeccanica and the Israeli TOR joint venture of Elbit Systems/Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). This saw Israel get 30 M-346s (part of its Lavi fleet) and Italy get two IAI Gulfstream G550 AEW radar warning aircraft and an IAI/MBT OPTSAT-3000 optical military satellite.
The M-346 Master aircraft, which have evolved significantly with Elbit collaboration since then, have remained an important part of Israel's military.