Syria's outdated missile hit Israel's stealth fighter?

Southfront quoted a statement from Syria's air defense that the country's S-200 system had hit an Israeli F-35I.

According to this source, the Syrian Air Defense Force launched a missile from the S-200 system and hit the Israeli F-35I. This Soviet-made missile is still the backbone of Syria's long-range air defense force. However, it is too outdated compared to modern fighter aircraft.

However, the Syrian Defense Ministry still affirmed in a statement that government forces responded promptly to the airspace violation and directly hit one of the fighter jets, forcing the Israeli planes to turn around and retreat.

Israeli F-35I fighter.

The Syrian air defense statement surprised many and was in complete contrast to Israel's information that none of its planes were hit.

But just hours after the Syrian missile launch, Israeli media reported that an F-35I stealth fighter was unable to operate, with the cause determined to be a collision with a foreign object that made the plane unable to continue operating.

Along with the information that the F-35I collided with a foreign object, Israeli media also reported that this incident had happened exactly 2 weeks earlier.

However, the fact that the stealth fighter jet designed specifically for Israel by the US was damaged and was announced at the same time Syria confirmed that the S-200 had shot down the fighter jet makes the authenticity of Damascus's statement more highly appreciated.

Although it is not yet possible to confirm that the S-200 hit the F-35I, immediately after Syria made the above statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it is unacceptable for Syrian air defense forces to target Israeli aircraft and Tel Aviv will continue airstrikes if necessary.

"Our policy is clear: those who try to harm us, we will make them pay the price. Our planes were attacked and this is unacceptable," Mr Netanyahu said.

Immediately after the attack, the Israeli Air Force took action and struck precisely, successfully destroying the Syrian target. Israel will continue to operate during this time only for the purpose of defending Israel," Prime Minister Netanyahu affirmed.

According to previous information from Southfront, the Israeli airstrike destroyed a Syrian air defense battalion with the core of S-200 missiles in response to the shooting down of Israeli aircraft.

"The Israeli Air Force attacked and destroyed a Syrian air defense battalion east of Damascus. It was this battalion that fired the missile at the Israeli aircraft," the Israeli Air Force said in a statement.

At the time of the attack, the Israeli bombers were in Lebanese airspace. There were no casualties on the Israeli side. In particular, a senior Israeli military leader revealed: "The Russians were informed in real time and also the location of our airstrikes."

According to Baodatviet