Israel Equips F-35I Adir with Stealth Fuel Tanks to Expand Long-Range Strike Reach
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The Times of Israel reported that Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said Israel’s F-35I Adir fleet now carries range-extending fuel tanks that preserve its low observable profile. The claim signals Israel’s push to secure independent long-range strike capability following its June 2025 air war with Iran.
On February 16, 2026, The Times of Israel reported via its liveblog that Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, claims the Israeli F-35I Adir fleet has been fitted with range-extending fuel tanks “without compromising stealth.” Quoting an interview in the daily Israel Hayom, the liveblog entry suggests that years of quiet work on tailor-made fuel and weapons configurations for the Adir have now reached operational maturity. Coming against the backdrop of a multi-front campaign and the experience of the June 2025 Iran–Israel war, known in Israel as Operation Rising Lion, the claim points to an effort to guarantee more credible, long-range strike options with reduced reliance on traditional tanker support.
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Israel’s ambassador to the United States stated that the Israeli Air Force’s F-35I Adir fleet has been equipped with newly developed range extending fuel tanks engineered to maintain the aircraft’s low observable characteristics (Picture Source: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
According to The Times of Israel, Leiter states that “we developed fuel tanks that extend the aircraft’s range without compromising stealth, and we added four missiles on the wings,” summarizing two distinct but related capability enhancements: additional fuel volume and an expanded external weapons load. Over the past several years, open-source reporting has repeatedly suggested that the Israeli Air Force was pursuing custom external or conformal tanks for the F-35I in order to enable deep-strike missions to targets such as central Iran without relying entirely on aerial refueling. The tanks are understood to be conformal installations aligned with the aircraft’s external geometry and incorporated within the fuel and mission architecture in order to limit any increase in observable signature, in contrast to conventional pylon-mounted drop tanks that would ordinarily generate a markedly higher radar cross-section.
The F-35I Adir itself is a uniquely customized derivative of the standard F-35A, giving the Israeli Air Force unusual latitude to alter hardware and software. Unlike other international users, Israel negotiated the right to integrate indigenous mission computers, electronic warfare suites, communications and weapons, creating a platform that serves as a testbed for national industry as much as a frontline fighter. In practice, this includes national data links, tailored threat libraries, proprietary encryption and command-and-control applications, as well as the ability to integrate Israeli air-to-surface and air-to-air munitions directly into the aircraft’s sensor-fusion and fire-control architecture. The Adir is therefore employed not only as a multirole combat aircraft, but also as a high-end sensor and C4ISR node within Israel’s wider integrated air and missile defense network.
This open architecture makes it technically and contractually easier for Jerusalem and its aerospace sector to design and certify additions such as bespoke fuel tanks or new external pylons, provided they remain within the envelope cleared by the jet’s manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, and the F-35 program office. Structural loads, flight-control laws, stores-separation characteristics and mission-system software can be adapted in cooperation with the U.S. authorities to accommodate conformal fuel tanks, modified hardpoints or specific weapon configurations, while preserving compliance with safety, airworthiness and signature-management requirements. In this framework, range-extending tanks and enhanced external carriage options for the F-35I are not isolated modifications, but part of a broader national customization strategy that leverages the aircraft’s modular design to align its performance profile with Israel’s long-range strike and deterrence needs.
While neither Israel nor the manufacturer has released precise performance data, open-source figures for the F-35A typically place the platform in the roughly 1,000-kilometer combat-radius class when operating solely on internal fuel in a representative strike profile. In concept, the introduction of low-observable external or conformal tanks on the F-35I Adir would be intended to extend this endurance envelope significantly, potentially enabling unrefueled out-and-back missions from Israeli bases to strategic targets at extended ranges with a balanced weapons load. Such an enhancement would be designed to reduce planning dependence on long-range air-to-air refueling tracks and limit the exposure of high-value airborne assets such as tanker aircraft, even as Israel recapitalizes its refueling fleet with KC-46A Pegasus platforms to replace legacy Boeing 707-based tankers.
Leiter’s remark that four additional missiles have been added on the wings ties the range story to another well-documented evolution of the Adir: the move to external weapons carriage in what is colloquially known as “beast mode.” The F-35 was originally optimized to carry munitions internally to preserve its radar-evading profile, but Israel, working with the F-35 program and Lockheed Martin, has developed and operationally employed a configuration in which guided bombs and air-to-surface missiles are mounted on under-wing pylons. The Israeli Air Force has publicly stated that its Adirs are the only F-35s to have conducted combat strikes with this external-armament design, and imagery released during the June 2025 war with Iran showed F-35I jets carrying significant weapon loads on their wings. Such a mode sacrifices part of the platform’s stealth but dramatically increases firepower per sortie once enemy air defenses have been degraded.
Tactically, combining range-extending tanks with selectable external armament gives mission planners a much broader set of employment options and allows the F-35I to support different concepts of operations within the same air campaign. One representative CONOPS would see the Adir launch in a low-observable configuration with conformal or semi-conformal tanks and predominantly internal ordnance, using its reduced radar cross-section for deep penetration during the ingress phase, then jettisoning the tanks before entering heavily defended airspace to restore its minimum-signature profile against integrated air-defense systems. In follow-on sorties, or over sectors where SEAD/DEAD efforts have degraded surface-to-air threats to an acceptable level, the same aircraft could be configured in a high-payload “beast mode,” carrying wing-mounted precision-guided munitions and air-to-surface missiles to maximize weapons effects per sortie against fixed infrastructure, air bases, command-and-control nodes and missile batteries. By extending on-station endurance and transit range, the additional fuel capacity also increases loiter time in designated kill boxes or along patrol tracks, reinforcing the F-35I’s role as a forward sensor, targeting and C4ISR node within Israel’s multi-front air operations architecture.
The modifications speak directly to the enduring contest between Israel and Iran over nuclear and missile capabilities. In recent years, the F-35I has already played a major role in deep-strike campaigns against Iranian nuclear infrastructure and air defenses, including Operation Rising Lion and subsequent waves of attacks, where stealth aircraft reportedly played a leading role in penetrating heavily defended airspace. If the Adir can now reach those targets with greater fuel margins, greater weapon loads, and reduced dependence on tankers that must orbit far from hostile airspace, the credibility of Israel’s unilateral strike option is likely to be reinforced in the eyes of both Tehran and Washington. At the same time, Leiter’s assertion that Israeli pilots have logged more F-35 flight hours than any other foreign operator, and his anecdote that the manufacturer’s CEO described Israeli feedback and innovations as worth “many billions” to the company, underline how these combat-driven adaptations feed back into the global F-35 enterprise and may influence future U.S. and allied upgrades.
Leiter’s comments, amplified by The Times of Israel, amount to one of the most explicit public confirmations so far that Israel has moved from experimental concepts to operational use of extended-range, heavily armed Adirs in its long-range strike portfolio. Technical details remain classified, and some external analysts still caution that any external tank inevitably carries a stealth penalty unless perfectly integrated and, if necessary, discarded before penetrating dense air defenses. But the message conveyed by an ambassador speaking on the record is clear: Israel wants adversaries and partners alike to factor a more distant-reaching, more adaptable F-35I into their calculations. In a region where airpower and deterrence are inseparable, the prospect of Adir squadrons able to fly farther, hit harder and still exploit stealth in the critical phases of a mission marks a notable evolution in the Middle East air balance, and one that other F-35 users and Iran’s strategists will study very closely in the months ahead.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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The Times of Israel reported that Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said Israel’s F-35I Adir fleet now carries range-extending fuel tanks that preserve its low observable profile. The claim signals Israel’s push to secure independent long-range strike capability following its June 2025 air war with Iran.
On February 16, 2026, The Times of Israel reported via its liveblog that Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, claims the Israeli F-35I Adir fleet has been fitted with range-extending fuel tanks “without compromising stealth.” Quoting an interview in the daily Israel Hayom, the liveblog entry suggests that years of quiet work on tailor-made fuel and weapons configurations for the Adir have now reached operational maturity. Coming against the backdrop of a multi-front campaign and the experience of the June 2025 Iran–Israel war, known in Israel as Operation Rising Lion, the claim points to an effort to guarantee more credible, long-range strike options with reduced reliance on traditional tanker support.
Israel’s ambassador to the United States stated that the Israeli Air Force’s F-35I Adir fleet has been equipped with newly developed range extending fuel tanks engineered to maintain the aircraft’s low observable characteristics (Picture Source: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
According to The Times of Israel, Leiter states that “we developed fuel tanks that extend the aircraft’s range without compromising stealth, and we added four missiles on the wings,” summarizing two distinct but related capability enhancements: additional fuel volume and an expanded external weapons load. Over the past several years, open-source reporting has repeatedly suggested that the Israeli Air Force was pursuing custom external or conformal tanks for the F-35I in order to enable deep-strike missions to targets such as central Iran without relying entirely on aerial refueling. The tanks are understood to be conformal installations aligned with the aircraft’s external geometry and incorporated within the fuel and mission architecture in order to limit any increase in observable signature, in contrast to conventional pylon-mounted drop tanks that would ordinarily generate a markedly higher radar cross-section.
The F-35I Adir itself is a uniquely customized derivative of the standard F-35A, giving the Israeli Air Force unusual latitude to alter hardware and software. Unlike other international users, Israel negotiated the right to integrate indigenous mission computers, electronic warfare suites, communications and weapons, creating a platform that serves as a testbed for national industry as much as a frontline fighter. In practice, this includes national data links, tailored threat libraries, proprietary encryption and command-and-control applications, as well as the ability to integrate Israeli air-to-surface and air-to-air munitions directly into the aircraft’s sensor-fusion and fire-control architecture. The Adir is therefore employed not only as a multirole combat aircraft, but also as a high-end sensor and C4ISR node within Israel’s wider integrated air and missile defense network.
This open architecture makes it technically and contractually easier for Jerusalem and its aerospace sector to design and certify additions such as bespoke fuel tanks or new external pylons, provided they remain within the envelope cleared by the jet’s manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, and the F-35 program office. Structural loads, flight-control laws, stores-separation characteristics and mission-system software can be adapted in cooperation with the U.S. authorities to accommodate conformal fuel tanks, modified hardpoints or specific weapon configurations, while preserving compliance with safety, airworthiness and signature-management requirements. In this framework, range-extending tanks and enhanced external carriage options for the F-35I are not isolated modifications, but part of a broader national customization strategy that leverages the aircraft’s modular design to align its performance profile with Israel’s long-range strike and deterrence needs.
While neither Israel nor the manufacturer has released precise performance data, open-source figures for the F-35A typically place the platform in the roughly 1,000-kilometer combat-radius class when operating solely on internal fuel in a representative strike profile. In concept, the introduction of low-observable external or conformal tanks on the F-35I Adir would be intended to extend this endurance envelope significantly, potentially enabling unrefueled out-and-back missions from Israeli bases to strategic targets at extended ranges with a balanced weapons load. Such an enhancement would be designed to reduce planning dependence on long-range air-to-air refueling tracks and limit the exposure of high-value airborne assets such as tanker aircraft, even as Israel recapitalizes its refueling fleet with KC-46A Pegasus platforms to replace legacy Boeing 707-based tankers.
Leiter’s remark that four additional missiles have been added on the wings ties the range story to another well-documented evolution of the Adir: the move to external weapons carriage in what is colloquially known as “beast mode.” The F-35 was originally optimized to carry munitions internally to preserve its radar-evading profile, but Israel, working with the F-35 program and Lockheed Martin, has developed and operationally employed a configuration in which guided bombs and air-to-surface missiles are mounted on under-wing pylons. The Israeli Air Force has publicly stated that its Adirs are the only F-35s to have conducted combat strikes with this external-armament design, and imagery released during the June 2025 war with Iran showed F-35I jets carrying significant weapon loads on their wings. Such a mode sacrifices part of the platform’s stealth but dramatically increases firepower per sortie once enemy air defenses have been degraded.
Tactically, combining range-extending tanks with selectable external armament gives mission planners a much broader set of employment options and allows the F-35I to support different concepts of operations within the same air campaign. One representative CONOPS would see the Adir launch in a low-observable configuration with conformal or semi-conformal tanks and predominantly internal ordnance, using its reduced radar cross-section for deep penetration during the ingress phase, then jettisoning the tanks before entering heavily defended airspace to restore its minimum-signature profile against integrated air-defense systems. In follow-on sorties, or over sectors where SEAD/DEAD efforts have degraded surface-to-air threats to an acceptable level, the same aircraft could be configured in a high-payload “beast mode,” carrying wing-mounted precision-guided munitions and air-to-surface missiles to maximize weapons effects per sortie against fixed infrastructure, air bases, command-and-control nodes and missile batteries. By extending on-station endurance and transit range, the additional fuel capacity also increases loiter time in designated kill boxes or along patrol tracks, reinforcing the F-35I’s role as a forward sensor, targeting and C4ISR node within Israel’s multi-front air operations architecture.
The modifications speak directly to the enduring contest between Israel and Iran over nuclear and missile capabilities. In recent years, the F-35I has already played a major role in deep-strike campaigns against Iranian nuclear infrastructure and air defenses, including Operation Rising Lion and subsequent waves of attacks, where stealth aircraft reportedly played a leading role in penetrating heavily defended airspace. If the Adir can now reach those targets with greater fuel margins, greater weapon loads, and reduced dependence on tankers that must orbit far from hostile airspace, the credibility of Israel’s unilateral strike option is likely to be reinforced in the eyes of both Tehran and Washington. At the same time, Leiter’s assertion that Israeli pilots have logged more F-35 flight hours than any other foreign operator, and his anecdote that the manufacturer’s CEO described Israeli feedback and innovations as worth “many billions” to the company, underline how these combat-driven adaptations feed back into the global F-35 enterprise and may influence future U.S. and allied upgrades.
Leiter’s comments, amplified by The Times of Israel, amount to one of the most explicit public confirmations so far that Israel has moved from experimental concepts to operational use of extended-range, heavily armed Adirs in its long-range strike portfolio. Technical details remain classified, and some external analysts still caution that any external tank inevitably carries a stealth penalty unless perfectly integrated and, if necessary, discarded before penetrating dense air defenses. But the message conveyed by an ambassador speaking on the record is clear: Israel wants adversaries and partners alike to factor a more distant-reaching, more adaptable F-35I into their calculations. In a region where airpower and deterrence are inseparable, the prospect of Adir squadrons able to fly farther, hit harder and still exploit stealth in the critical phases of a mission marks a notable evolution in the Middle East air balance, and one that other F-35 users and Iran’s strategists will study very closely in the months ahead.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
