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Rumor has it that Israel may have used secretly modified F-35I stealth fighters with extended range capabilities to carry out air strikes on Iran on the 13th, which can fly directly to Iran, which is more than 1,000 kilometers away, without aerial refueling. Although the Israeli army only has seven refueling aircraft, it can still dispatch fighters on a large scale to strike targets in Iran, which makes people speculate that Israel has indeed installed fuel tanks on some F-35 fighters to extend the range and reduce its dependence on refueling aircraft.

Other analysts believe that the Israeli military's operation this time was carried out by F-35 fighter jets to suppress Iran's air defense, and then F-15I fighter jets were responsible for dropping heavy bombs and hitting Iran's deeply reinforced nuclear facilities.

Military news website The Aviationist reported that Israel launched a large-scale airstrike on Iran in the early morning of the 13th, codenamed"Rising Lion", attacking the Iranian capital Tehran and multiple nuclear and military facilities. There are unconfirmed claims that Israel was able to strike Iran at a distance of 930 kilometers without using aerial refueling aircraft, which may be attributed to the rumored"secret range-extending modification" of the Israeli F-35 fighter.

Since Israel launched a series of air strikes against Iran on the 13th, the outside world has paid close attention to the Israeli military's long-range strike capability. The Israeli Air Force only has seven Boeing 707 aerial refueling aircraft, but it can support a large number of fighter jets to penetrate deep into Iran and carry out long-range air strikes, which has caused a lot of speculation.

200 מטוסי קרב, מעל 330 חימושים שונים:

pic.twitter.com/e9D556OGQh

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) June 13, 2025

According to a video suspected to be shot by a country between Israel and Iran, some Israeli fighter jets did conduct aerial refueling. However, Israel currently has a limited number of refueling aircraft, and the outside world suspects that they may not be able to support such a large-scale long-range strike mission.

Some commentators have claimed that the US Air Force may have provided aerial refueling support, but this has not been confirmed. In fact, US President Donald Trump has explicitly denied any US involvement.

There is also speculation that the Royal Air Force Voyager tankers that carried out Operation Shader in Syria may have been involved, but this can be immediately ruled out because this type of tanker only supports the"hose-and-drogue refueling" system and is not compatible with the "boom-refueled" fighters mainly used by Israel.

However, if some of the Israeli fighters involved in the attack do not need tanker support, the pressure on the tankers can be greatly reduced. According to Middle East Eye, citing anonymous US officials, this is exactly what happened in this mission. Israel has its own version of the F-35A fighter, the Israeli F-35I"Adir" fighter, and it has been reported several times in the past that it is undergoing range-extending modifications, including the installation of additional fuel tanks.

The details of these modifications have been kept highly confidential, but as early as 2022, the Israeli Air Force claimed that their F-35s had the ability to reach Iran directly without aerial refueling, but did not explain how this was achieved.

(Extended reading: 【With video】World's first! Israeli F-35I fighter jet verifies"beast mode" in actual combat, ammunition load increases 4 times)

According to previous reports, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and its subsidiary Elbit Systems have completed preliminary research on the design of 600-gallon external fuel tanks and fuselage-bonded fuel tanks (CFTs) for the F-35 fighter. In theory, CFTs have less impact on stealth performance and can also release mounting points for weapons, which is why many F-16 fighter operators, including Israel, prefer CFTs.

However, if the F-35 is to be fully stealthy, it is unlikely to carry external weapons. Although the drop tanks and pylons will significantly increase the radar cross section (RCS), there is research into developing low RCS designs to reduce this effect.

Once the additional fuel is successfully loaded, the combat capability of the F-35 fighter will be greatly improved. The F-35A fighter already has a very good combat radius, and the internal bomb bay zero-drag weapon mounting design can achieve long-range missions with considerable firepower. This capability also complements Israel's current F-16I fighter and F-15I"Thunder" (Ra'am) fighter, both of which are equipped with CFT tanks.

IDF F-16 refueling over Deir ez-Zur, Syria. A lot has changed in months after Oct. 7, 2023, and most of it to the determent of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria and Russia.#OSINT

— OSINT Intuit 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 🇬🇪 (@UKikaski) June 13, 2025

The key to the problem lies in the division of tasks between the various types of fighters. Israeli fighters integrate a variety of undisclosed weapon systems, including air-launched ballistic missiles and a one-ton bomb that can be inserted into the bomb bay of an F-35 fighter.

However, Iran's deeply reinforced nuclear facilities require bombs with strong penetrating power, such as the GBU-28 and GBU-72"Bunker Busters" provided by the United States. These 5,000-pound bombs are usually carried by F-15 fighter jets.

If no unknown large penetrating bombs were integrated into the F-35 fighter, it can be reasonably inferred that the F-35 fighter was mainly responsible for suppressing or destroying the enemy's air defense (SEAD/DEAD) in this mission, while the F-15I fighter was responsible for dropping heavy bombs to hit the target.

Even if the F-15 fighters still need to be refueled in the air, as long as some F-35 fighters can"fly independently", they can reduce their dependence on tankers, distribute precious fuel to other fleets, and extend the tanker's lag and support time.

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