The F-35’s Defining Role in Israel’s Historic Campaign Against Iran

In June 2025, Israel executed the most ambitious air campaign in its history, Operation Rising Lion, striking targets over 1,000 miles away across a nation 75 times its size.

Over twelve days, Israeli aircraft flew more than 1,400 sorties against Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile infrastructure, and military leadership without losing a single manned aircraft.

At the heart of this unprecedented achievement was a weapons system that fundamentally transformed how Israel could project power: the F-35 “flying combat system” wolfpack fighter.

According to a comprehensive new report from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), the F-35’s role went far beyond simply participating in the campaign.

Israeli pilots and commanders described the aircraft as so essential that they refused to enter Iranian airspace without F-35s leading the way.

This integration of America’s most advanced fighter into Israel’s operational doctrine not only enabled the June 2025 strikes but demonstrated capabilities that exceeded even optimistic expectations and set new standards for modern air warfare.

To understand the significance of Operation Rising Lion, one must first grasp the strategic context. This wasn’t simply a “12-Day War” that erupted without warning, as American media often portrayed it. Israeli officials told JINSA researchers that the operation represented the culmination of Iran’s three-decade pursuit of Israel’s elimination through three coordinated lines of effort: developing nuclear weapons capability, building massive ballistic missile arsenals, and creating a “ring of fire” of terrorist proxies surrounding Israel.

By late 2024, Iran had made alarming progress on all three fronts. Its nuclear program had advanced to the point where U.S. intelligence assessed Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for multiple bombs within weeks of a decision to do so. Its ballistic missile stockpile had grown to approximately 2,500 missiles capable of reaching Israel, with plans to triple that number within two years. And its proxy network, Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and various militias, had become a formidable deterrent force.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terrorist attack proved to be the catalyst. Israeli leadership realized that so long as Iran, the “head of the octopus”, remained untouched, there would always be another tentacle ready to strike.

Over the following months, Israel systematically dismantled Iran’s proxy network: degrading Hamas in Gaza, devastating Hezbollah’s leadership and capabilities in Lebanon, and eliminating Syrian air defenses after Assad’s fall. By June 2025, Israel had created both the opportunity and the necessity to strike Iran directly.

Initially, Israeli planners conceived of their Iran operation as a series of pinpoint surgical strikes targeting only the enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow.

However, as Iran accelerated both its nuclear weapons research and its ballistic missile production following an October 2024 exchange of fire, Israeli military leaders fundamentally reimagined their approach.

The expanded operational plan required something Israel had never attempted: conducting sustained operations over a major regional power more than a thousand kilometers from its borders.

More targets meant more sorties.

The Israel Air Force undertook the ambitious task of preparing its entire fleet for extended, long-range missions.

Initially, planners didn’t envision using F-16s, given their more limited range and payload compared to the F-15I.

However, as the campaign’s scope expanded, F-16s were added to strike packages to provide additional flexibility and sortie capacity.

Yet even with this expansion, no Israeli aircraft would enter Iranian airspace at any point unless F-35s led the way and Israeli pilots made clear they wouldn’t have wanted to fly in Iran without the F-35s there.

Israel’s confidence in the F-35 wasn’t theoretical.

By June 2025, Israeli pilots had accumulated more combat flight hours in the F-35 than any other air force in the world. Israel became the first nation to use the F-35 in combat operations back in May 2018, and in March 2025 became the first to fly it in “beast mode” or carrying external underwing munitions that sacrifice some stealth for increased payload capacity.

This operational experience translated into concrete capability improvements.

Since October 7, 2023, the average flight hours per Israeli F-35 had soared from 440 to 2,250 hours, reflecting the intense pace and critical role of these advanced fighters in Israel’s ongoing conflicts. Israel had built a fleet of 44 F-35 jets organized into two full squadrons plus a flight trainer, with five additional jets expected within two to three years.

But quantity alone doesn’t explain the F-35’s decisive impact.

What made the aircraft indispensable was its revolutionary sensor fusion and information-sharing capabilities, combined with Israeli innovations and real-time adaptations that kept the fleet perpetually one tactical step ahead of Iranian defenses.

The F-35’s advanced sensor suite and data-sharing capabilities fundamentally changed how Israeli strike packages operated.

The aircraft could transmit sensor data instantly to other Israeli jets, which could “lock on” to F-35 radars for synchronized attacks.

This meant F-16s and F-15Is could engage targets detected by F-35s without those aircraft ever needing to activate their own radars, a critical advantage when operating in contested airspace with sophisticated air defenses.

Even more importantly, the F-35’s extended detection range allowed for broader coverage and eliminated the need for tight formation flying.

Rather than relying on visual contact or closely coordinated flight patterns traditional to air operations, F-35s could guide and direct other aircraft across the battlespace from dozens of miles away, maximizing both survivability and strike effectiveness.

Israel’s capacity to update F-35 electronic warfare systems in real time, drawing directly from recent combat experience in Lebanon and Syria, ensured that the fleet was always adapted to the latest threat environment.

When the campaign began, Israeli F-35s were specifically configured to counter Iranian air defense systems based on the most current intelligence available.

Initially, Israeli planners were uncertain about the profiles and operational characteristics of many indigenous Iranian surface-to-air missile systems, which stood in contrast to Russian systems that Israel had previously studied and operated against in Syria. Some Iranian systems relied solely on optical tracking, complicating detection and countermeasures. Israeli intelligence also recognized that Iran had demonstrated an ability to adapt, especially in its responses to Israeli strikes in April and October 2024.

This is where the F-35’s unique capabilities proved decisive.

The aircraft possessed the ability to detect air defense systems even when those defenses operated in survivability mode and remained invisible to standard intelligence collection.

When Iranian radar or missile sites activated, F-35s could immediately spot them, effectively serving as an airborne early warning or electronic warfare aircraft.

The F-35 would then relay targeting information to other jets, such as F-16s and F-15s, enabling rapid and precise strikes against defenses that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Israeli commanders told JINSA researchers that this capability exceeded expectations. The F-35s detected and targeted surface-to-air missile sites with remarkable ease, and their sophisticated targeting systems performed flawlessly in the dynamic battlespace.

By the middle of the conflict, Iranian SAM systems between the Iraq border and Tehran had mostly stopped operating due to coordinated air defense suppression missions that the F-35 made possible.

The integration of F-35s into Israeli operations wasn’t merely supportive. It was foundational to the entire campaign.

Israeli military doctrine for Operation Rising Lion mandated that no aircraft entered Iranian airspace unless F-35s were present, whether leading formations directly or escorting packages of F-15s and F-16s from dozens of miles away.

One Israeli pilot told JINSA researchers directly: they would not have wanted to fly in Iran without the F-35s there. This wasn’t hyperbole or marketing speak. It reflected the stark operational reality that the F-35’s sensor capabilities, survivability features, and real-time electronic warfare adaptations were essential for operating in Iran’s contested airspace.

The aircraft’s combination of multi-role capabilities, real-time intelligence sharing, and networked combat effectiveness established the F-35 as the critical centerpiece of Israeli air operations. Its ability to detect threats, coordinate strikes, suppress air defenses, and survive in contested environments enabled Israel to achieve air superiority rapidly and maintain it throughout the twelve-day campaign.

The results speak for themselves. Over twelve days, the IAF flew more than 1,400 long-range sorties, each lasting roughly four to four-and-a-half hours—against targets up to 1,000 miles away without losing a single manned aircraft, sustaining battle damage, or suffering a major mechanical failure. Israeli pilots dropped 3,709 bombs on 2,879 Iranian targets, with F-35s playing a central role in target identification, air defense suppression, and strike coordination.

Iran managed to launch only two surface-to-air missiles against manned Israeli aircraft during the entire campaign, and neither came close to hitting their targets. This extraordinary defensive success operating deep in hostile territory against a nation that had invested heavily in air defenses demonstrated not just tactical proficiency but fundamental technological and operational superiority enabled by the F-35.

The aircraft’s success also facilitated U.S. Operation Midnight Hammer. Israeli F-35s and other aircraft cleared ingress routes for American B-2 bombers, struck additional targets specifically requested by U.S. CENTCOM, and provided battle damage assessments that confirmed conditions for U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel’s air superiority, achieved largely through F-35-enabled operations, ensured that U.S. warplanes could deliver their weapons uncontested.

The F-35’s performance during Operation Rising Lion has profound implications for U.S.-Israeli defense cooperation and regional security architecture.

The aircraft validated the billions of dollars invested in its development and demonstrated capabilities that few analysts fully anticipated.

For Israel, it proved that distance and sophisticated defenses are no longer insurmountable obstacles to holding adversary targets at risk.

Yet JINSA’s report also identifies critical gaps and future requirements. While the F-35 performed brilliantly, Israel’s aging fleet of Boeing 707-based “Ram” refueling tankers proved precarious to operate and maintain. Israeli pilots told researchers they felt safer flying over Tehran than trying to keep the aging tankers airborne. The report strongly recommends that the United States expedite delivery of KC-46 aerial refueling tankers, currently scheduled for 2026, to address this critical vulnerability.

The report also emphasizes that ensuring Israel maintains the capabilities demonstrated in June 2025 serves American interests. Israel’s ability to independently defend itself and U.S. security interests against Iranian threats reduces the need for direct U.S. military intervention while demonstrating to allies and adversaries alike the credibility of American security commitments.

Operation Rising Lion offers several lessons for military planners and strategists.

• First, sensor fusion and networked operations aren’t merely technical improvements. They represent fundamental shifts in how air campaigns can be conducted. The F-35’s ability to serve simultaneously as a strike platform, electronic warfare asset, intelligence collection system, and command-and-control node created operational possibilities that didn’t exist with previous generations of aircraft.
• Second, persistent training and combat experience matter enormously. Israel’s eight years of F-35 combat operations, accumulated through thousands of sorties across multiple conflicts, created institutional knowledge and tactical innovations that generic training exercises cannot replicate. The Israeli Air Force’s ability to rapidly update electronic warfare systems based on recent combat lessons gave them crucial advantages against Iranian defenses.
• Third, technological superiority can offset numerical and geographical disadvantages but only when properly integrated into operational doctrine. The F-35 wasn’t simply added to Israeli strike packages; it fundamentally shaped how those packages were organized, how missions were planned, and how operations unfolded. This level of integration requires years of doctrinal development, training, and organizational adaptation.

As Iran works to rebuild its degraded capabilities, the F-35 will remain central to Israeli deterrence and, if necessary, future operations.

The aircraft’s demonstrated ability to penetrate advanced air defenses, detect hidden threats, coordinate complex strike packages, and enable other aircraft to operate safely in contested environments makes it irreplaceable in Israel’s strategic toolkit.

JINSA’s report emphasizes that maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge, symbolized perhaps most clearly by F-35 capabilities, serves broader American strategic interests. As Iran potentially seeks to reconstitute its nuclear program, rebuild its missile arsenals, and restore its proxy networks, Israel’s ability to hold these capabilities at risk, enabled by the F-35, provides crucial deterrence against Iranian aggression.

The June 2025 campaign demonstrated that modern air warfare has entered a new era where sensor fusion, stealth, electronic warfare, and networked operations combine to create decisive advantages.

At the center of this transformation stands the F-35, not just as another fighter aircraft, but as a system that fundamentally changes what’s possible in modern military operations.

For Israel, the F-35 transformed Operation Rising Lion from an audacious gamble into a calculated success.

For the United States, it validated decades of investment and demonstrated capabilities that reinforce deterrence across multiple theaters. And for future conflicts, it established new standards for what advanced air forces can achieve when cutting-edge technology meets operational excellence and strategic necessity.