전투기 2021년 3월 이스라엘의 F-35가 드론 2기를 격추, 첫 번째 공대공 전과를 기록

[위종민]

https://breakingdefense.com/2022/03/israeli-f-35s-shot-down-two-drones-first-confirmed-air-to-air-kills-for-jsf/

Israeli F-35s shot down two drones; first confirmed air-to-air kills for JSF - Breaking Defense

지난해 이스라엘의 F-35가 드론 두 대를 격추했다고 이스라엘이 뒤늦게 밝혔습니다. 

작년 3월 13일 0150시 남측에서 이스라엘로 접근하는 이란 UAV 1번기가, 0212시 동측에서 접근하는 2번기가 탐지됐고 두 대 모두 이스라엘 공군의 F-35가 격추시켰다고 합니다. 이는 F-35 최초의 실전 공대공 격추 전과라고 하네요. 

조기경보통제기와 지상레이더에 의해 탐지됐으며, 이스라엘에서 샤하드 197로 명명한 이 드론들은 기술적 평가를 겸해 수송임무를 수행중이었다고 합니다. F-35가 공대공 미사일로 이 드론을 격추한 뒤 잔해를 수습해 조사한 결과 레바논의 헤즈볼라와 가자 지구의 하마스로 향하는 것으로 보이는 권총들이 수습됐습니다. 

F-35는 남부 이스라엘의 네바팀 기지에서 출격했으며 1대는 116 비행대대, 또다른 1대는 140 비행대대 소속이었습니다. 

Israeli F-35s shot down two drones; first confirmed air-to-air kills for JSF

on March 07, 2022 at 2:12 PM

An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during a graduation ceremony of Israeli Air Force pilots at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern city of Beer Sheva, on June 24, 2021. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

TEL AVIV: The first Iranian UAV was detected by Israeli sensors at 1:50 AM on March 13, 2021, approaching Israel from the south. The second UAV was detected at 2.12 AM, approaching Israel from the east. Minutes later, both Iranian-launched drones were shot down by Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-35s, the first acknowledged operational air-to-air kill for the fifth-generation fighter.

Operation Two Bridges, as the F-35 strike was known, happened almost a full year ago, but the details were uncovered only today during a special briefing by the IAF. The timing is noteworthy: Israel is making public the information as a deal to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement, which Israel opposes, appears close to completion.

Vitally, Israeli sources say the operation led to the formation of a recently announced “Anti-UAV coalition” aimed at protecting Israel and some other countries from the growing threat of the Iranian made UAVs.

The two Israeli high ranking officers, one from the IAF and the other from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) intelligence, told reporters that the two drones were Iranian made systems, the detection of which was made by a combination of an IAFAEW aircraft, and ground radars, the officers said.

These two systems were on a transport mission, believed to be part of a technical eval‎uation of the drone, which Israel briefers called the Shahad 197. After the two UAV’s were shot down with air-air missiles launched by the F-35, the remains were recovered and it was discovered the two systems were carrying hand guns, believed to be headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, two Iranian proxies.

“The plan was to drop the cargo over Lebanon and Gaza and fly back,” one of the officers said.

The F-35s took off from Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel. One plane belongs to the 116 squadron and the second to the 140 squadron. The officers said that the radar and other sensors aboard the F-35 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 said, without elaboration.

Neither officers nor other sources would say exactly where the intercept occurred, other than to acknowledge it was outside of Israel’s borders. The two senior officers also refused to name the countries the Israeli F-35 had to cross to intercept the two Iranian UAVs, but the fact Israeli jets were able to safely travel in the region is a sign that at least some cooperation is happening between Israel and others on the Iran issue.

In addition to being notable for the first (or at least publicly known) air-to-air strike by an F-35, Operation Two Bridges helped push the creation of a recently formed “anti-Iranian drone” coalition.

The coalition is a fairly new organization that has agreed to work together to counter the threat from Iranian-made UAVs, which are increasingly seen as a primary tool for Iranian aggression in the region.  Israeli official sources refused to comment on the structure of the coalition, including who is involved, but sources in Israel said that “US sensors in the relevant region are assisting the effort” and that the group is made up of “targets of Iranian aggression.” Given that, it seems safe to assume both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are involved.

The close intelligence sharing between the coalition members resulted last week with an attack on a command center in Yemen, from which coalition sources say Houthi rebels have conducted armed drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other targets in the Gulf region.

Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that Saudi Arabia is following Israel’s tactical lead and has begun attacking convoys of Iranian weapon inside Syria, in an attempt to destroy weapons bound for Houthi forces before they can arrive in Yemen.

Israel has already attacked Iranian bases hundreds of times throughout Syria as well as convoys of weapons making their way from Tehran to Syria and Lebanon through Iraqi soil, in an attempt to reduce the power of Iranians operating on Syrian soil.

According to an Israeli defense source, in recent months Iran’s Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has been increasing the delivery of drones to its proxies in the region and beyond. He noted that now Iranian-backed forces in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, have received these drones, adding that they were also sold to Venezuela.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement said in November it had fired 14 drones at several Saudi cities, including at Saudi Aramco facilities in Jeddah.

The coalition will also benefit from the new naval version of the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system, known as the “C-Dome” system, which in late February successfully completed a series of live-fire tests. Israeli sources told Breaking Defense that the C-Dome will increase the protection of the Israel gas pumping rigs in the Mediterranean but will also detect threats “far away from Israel.”

[백선호]

드론 잡는 일에 F-35I를 쓰기는 좀 아깝다는 생각이 드네요.

[위종민]

드론 두 대랑 권총 값이 F-35I 항공유 값도 안 나왔을 것 같습니다..

[엽군]

요격할 때 영상 보면, 생긴게 어디서 많이 보던 물건이죠. 아깝지는 않겠던데요.

[백선호]

짝퉁 RQ-170이 전투기 레이다에 아예 안잡힐 정도로 RCS가 낮지는 않을 것 같은데, F-16을 보내지 않은 이유는 쏘기 전에 EOTS, EO DAS로 확실히 ID를 하게 하려는 것이었을까요?