Israel Just Hit the Houthis with F-35I Adir Stealth Fighters
Israel's F-35I Adir has showcased its formidable capabilities by launching a retaliatory strike against Houthi targets in Yemen. The attack was in response to a drone strike by the Iran-backed rebels.
Summary and Key Points: Israel's F-35I Adir has showcased its formidable capabilities by launching a retaliatory strike against Houthi targets in Yemen. The attack was in response to a drone strike by the Iran-backed rebels.
-Israel's F-35I, an advanced version of the American-made stealth fighter, demonstrated its long-range strike ability and superior electronic warfare systems.
-This operation underscores Israel's capacity to project power far beyond its borders and sends a clear warning to Iran.
-As U.S. influence in the Middle East appears to diminish, Israel is taking decisive actions to secure its regional interests.
Israel’s Their F-35I Adir Just Rocked the Houthis’ (and Iran’s) World
While the United States is going through its internal crisis, the tiny, besieged democratic state of Israel has stepped up. Last weekend, a drone attack against Israeli targets was conducted by the vicious, Iran-backed Houthi rebels operating out of the failed state that is Yemen.
This is not the first time that the Houthis have done the bidding of their Iranian masters. Their ire has been mostly directed against international shipping transiting through the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb.
The Israeli Air Force Steps Up
Enter the Israeli Air Force.
As my colleague, Peter Suciu aptly described it, the Israelis recently engaged in a massive retaliatory strike against Houthi targets in Yemen in a way that was reminiscent of the 1985 Israeli strike in “Operation Wooden Leg.” Back then, Israel had grown tired of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and decided to launch a decapitating strike against it. Reaching more than 1,200 miles away from Israel, the IAF conducted a successful bombing of the PLO’s headquarters in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.
In a similar way, the IAF in its recent strike hit targets in and around Hodeidah, in distant Yemen. Israel used its fearsome F-35I “Adir” warplane. Israel is currently the only Middle East power that operates the American-made fifth-generation warplane. They operate a unique variant that might be even better than the F-35s in U.S. service.
What Makes the F-35I Special
Israel’s F-35I is a long-range stealth strike plane with enhanced weapons-carrying capabilities that allow it to threaten the homelands of Israel’s distant enemies. And while the targets of Israel’s strikes were in Yemen, given the level of tensions in the Greater Middle East, Israel was clearly sending a message to Iran. That message, in between mid-air refueling operations of the F-35I over the Red Sea, was clear: if you want to keep messing with us, Iran, we can hit you whenever we want to.
The interesting thing about Israel’s F-35 was that it was merely intended to be a slight augmentation. But, after much hemming-and-hawing from Israel, the Americans acquiesced to their demands to make significant modifications to the warplane. Evoking Suciu once more, the fear on the part of Israeli military leaders was that, despite the warplane’s 30-to-40-year operational lifespan, the likelihood was high that its stealth technologies could be overcome soon by rivals.
Israel wanted to install their own sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) capabilities onto the bird.
The Israeli EW enhancements were so great, that they were given their own unique F-35 designation (hence, the “I,” for Israel, in “F-35I”). But the only reason that the Israelis had to engage in the kind of strike the way they did was because America’s deterrent effect on the Middle East has evaporated. Now, Israel is having to take matters into its own hands.
This move by Israel shows Iran will not be allowed to simply walk away with the region as they appeared to be doing unopposed by the Biden administration.
Author Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is due October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock.
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