Yak-130 Mentioned as Israeli Footage Shows Strikes on F-4 and F-5 at Tabriz; Pilot Evades Missile

Israel released footage showing strikes on two of Iran’s vintage US-made fighters at Tabriz airport and separate video of an Israeli pilot evading an Iranian interceptor missile. The material arrives amid a sustained joint US-Israeli campaign that has already seen more than 1, 000 combat sorties and strikes on well over 1, 250 targets.

Tabriz airport: F-4 and F-5 jets struck on the tarmac

The Israel Defense Forces shared video documenting direct hits on a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and a Northrop F-5 as the aircraft were preparing to take off at Tabriz airport in western Iran. The IDF said the strikes were intended to degrade Iranian Air Force activity and further expand the degradation of Tehran’s aerial defenses. Footage released shows both aircraft struck while on the runway or immediately prior to departure.

The operations form part of a larger offensive launched by the US and Israel that Washington has named Operation Epic Fury and Israel has called Operation Roaring Lion. The US military has said it struck over 1, 250 targets in Iran since the operations began, and Central Command separately stated it struck and destroyed 11 Iranian ships. Israeli authorities estimate casualties among the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian security forces in the range of 1, 000 to 1, 500 fatalities so far.

Iran’s air fleet was noted in the released material and accompanying commentary as being largely composed of aging US designs that have become difficult to maintain under sanctions. Publicly cited inventory figures include roughly 60 F-4 Phantom IIs, fewer than 50 F-5s, and between 20 and 30 F-14 Tomcats—numbers that underscore why the IDF framed attacks on those types as a priority to limit Tehran’s aerial options.

Yak-130 and footage of an Israeli pilot evading a missile

Alongside the strikes on Tabriz, the IDF published separate cockpit footage showing an Israeli fighter pilot detecting and evading an Iranian interceptor missile. In the clip the pilot warns of "another launch" and later is heard saying he is "climbing over the skies" to avoid the incoming threat. The sequence was presented to illustrate pilot actions and aircraft survivability under missile engagement.

The Israel Air Force has conducted roughly 1, 000 combat sorties over Iranian territory as part of the joint campaign with the US Air Force, a tempo of operations that has been used to justify continued strikes on facilities and personnel linked to the Islamic regime, the IRGC, and affiliated militias. Israeli messaging accompanying the releases emphasized tactical aims—such as degrading air capabilities at Tabriz—while US statements highlighted a broader objective of crippling Iran’s military capacity.

Operational effects and the wider campaign

The immediate cause-and-effect pattern is clear: concentrated air strikes on Iranian air assets and infrastructure are intended to reduce Tehran’s ability to project force, and that degradation has been followed by retaliatory missile and drone launches from Iran toward Israeli territory and bases hosting US troops. Those responses have, in turn, driven further US-Israeli targeting across multiple Iranian military nodes.

What makes this notable is the scale and coordination: roughly 1, 000 sorties, more than 1, 250 targets struck, and the destruction of 11 ships, combined with on-the-ground footage showing specific aircraft losses, present a synchronized campaign across air and maritime domains. The timing matters because sustained sorties at that tempo can rapidly erode both equipment readiness and personnel cohesion among targeted forces.

Analysts and military statements accompanying the releases stressed the vulnerability of older airframes in Iran’s inventory, and the Tabriz strikes were presented as a tactical move to limit any quick recovery of air operations. The public release of a pilot’s missile-evasion clip serves a dual purpose: documenting survival under threat and reinforcing the operational narrative underpinning the broader joint campaign.

As the campaign continues, official tallies of sorties, targets struck, and casualties will remain central to evaluating its impact. For now, the footage from Tabriz and the cockpit clip together illustrate both the material and human elements shaping this phase of the conflict.