An Israeli Air Force F-35I “Adir” stealth fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force Yakovlev Yak-130 combat trainer over the skies of Tehran on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces announced, marking the first confirmed air-to-air kill of a manned aircraft by an F-35 and the Israeli military’s first fighter-on-fighter engagement in nearly four decades.
Israeli Air Force F-35I
The incident occurred shortly before 8:35 a.m. local time, the IDF said in a statement released around 10:30 a.m. Israel time. “An Israeli Air Force F-35I fighter jet (‘Adir’) shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet a short while ago over the skies of Tehran,” the military posted on social media platforms including Telegram and X. “This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 (‘Adir’) fighter jet.”
The downing came amid the fifth day of intense aerial operations in the ongoing war between Israel, supported by the United States, and Iran. Israel has conducted multiple waves of strikes on Iranian targets, including infrastructure tied to the regime’s security apparatus, missile systems, and leadership sites in and around Tehran. Explosions were reported in the Iranian capital at dawn Wednesday, with Iranian state television confirming blasts as Israeli jets maintained pressure.
The Yak-130, a Russian-designed advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft produced since the 1990s, is used by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) for training and limited attack roles. It lacks advanced radar capabilities compared to frontline fighters and relies primarily on visual or helmet-mounted sighting systems for close-range engagements. Analysts noted the mismatch: the F-35I, Israel’s customized variant of the Lockheed Martin stealth fighter, features superior sensors, electronic warfare systems, and beyond-visual-range missiles, allowing it to detect and engage targets from significant distances.
The IDF described the engagement as a dogfight, though details on whether it involved close-range maneuvering or a beyond-visual-range missile shot remain classified. No injuries or losses were reported on the Israeli side, with the F-35 returning undamaged. The pilot’s identity and specifics of the interception were not disclosed for operational security reasons.
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This marks the first time since 1985 that the Israeli Air Force has downed an enemy manned aircraft in air-to-air combat. In that earlier incident, F-15s shot down two Syrian MiG-21s over Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. The F-35’s combat debut against a manned target represents a milestone for the platform, which has seen extensive use in strike missions but had not previously recorded a confirmed air-to-air kill of a piloted plane.
The event unfolded against a backdrop of broader Israeli operations. On Wednesday, the IDF launched what it called a “broad wave of strikes” targeting Iranian internal security forces and regime infrastructure in Tehran. Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed continued action “to crush the regime’s capabilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow it.” Israeli officials have framed the campaign as aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to threaten Israel, the United States, and regional allies.
Iran has responded with missile and drone barrages targeting Israel, with air defenses intercepting many incoming threats. Explosions were heard around Jerusalem as interceptors engaged projectiles Wednesday morning. The conflict, now in its fifth day, follows earlier joint U.S.-Israeli strikes that reportedly targeted missile launchers, nuclear-related sites, and high-value personnel.
The Yak-130’s presence over Tehran raised questions among military observers. Some speculated it was scrambled to intercept Israeli aircraft or patrol amid heightened alerts, though its limited combat capabilities made it vulnerable. Iranian media has not yet confirmed the loss or provided details on the pilot’s fate. State outlets focused instead on reporting explosions and defensive measures.
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The incident highlights Israel’s air superiority in the theater. With dozens of F-35Is in its inventory—bolstered by ongoing deliveries—the IAF has conducted extensive operations, including what officials described as the largest aerial campaign in its history earlier in the week. Around 200 Israeli fighters, many F-35s, participated in strikes dropping thousands of munitions on Iranian targets.
Experts caution that while the shootdown demonstrates technological dominance, the war’s outcome depends on broader strategic factors, including Iran’s missile arsenal, proxy forces, and potential escalation involving other regional players. The U.S. has provided support through naval assets, intelligence sharing, and defensive assistance, though direct U.S. combat involvement remains limited to allied operations.
No independent verification of wreckage or crash site footage has emerged as of Wednesday afternoon, with Tehran airspace heavily contested and information tightly controlled. Aviation safety databases logged the Yak-130 as destroyed over Tehran, citing Israeli military sources.
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The downing has drawn swift reactions online and in military circles. Some praised the F-35’s performance as validation of stealth technology in contested environments, while others noted the lopsided matchup against a trainer-derived aircraft. Social media posts from defense accounts highlighted the historic nature, with one analyst remarking, “Poor Iranian pilots—they send them against the most advanced fighter jet in the world in a 15-year-old training jet.”
As operations continue, the IDF emphasized its commitment to neutralizing threats. Air raid sirens sounded intermittently in Israel amid Iranian retaliatory fire, underscoring the fluid and dangerous nature of the conflict.
Military officials in Jerusalem said strikes would persist until objectives—degrading Iran’s offensive capabilities and regime infrastructure—are met. For now, the skies over Tehran remain a focal point of the war, with Israel’s F-35s asserting dominance in what may prove a pivotal chapter in modern aerial warfare.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Chris Brownridge unveils the new Coachbuild Collection, Project Nightingale, with only 100 cars. He discusses minimal tariff impact, the decision to retain V12 engines, and strong US market demand for luxury vehicles.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Chris Brownridge unveiled Project Nightingale — the first model in the company’s newly launched Coachbuild Collection — during a FOX Business exclusive interview Tuesday, describing it as a “very special” addition to the ultra-luxury brand’s lineup.
“Today, we’re announcing Project Nightingale,” Brownridge told “The Big Money Show” co-host Taylor Riggs.
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“Project Nightingale is a very special motorcar for Rolls-Royce. It is the first of our Coachbuild Collection,” he added.
Rolls-Royce first announced the Coachbuild Collection in March, describing it as “an entirely new proposition in super-luxury” featuring highly limited, invitation-only vehicles.
This photo from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars shows the new Nightingale project. (Courtesy: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars)
“Each Coachbuild Collection is rare and extravagant, authored entirely by Rolls-Royce and created on a completely new canvas, never to be repeated,” the release stated.
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Participation in the program will be limited to clients with a “special affinity” for the marque.
Brownridge noted the Nightingale will be built on the company’s “architecture of luxury” and produced in highly limited numbers, with about 100 units planned.
Chris Brownridge in the presentation suite at Rolls-Royce’s manufacturing facility and global headquarters in Goodwood, U.K., on Dec. 9, 2025. (Murray Ballard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Because of its rarity, he said, the Coachbuild approach allows for greater design freedom and more elaborate craftsmanship.
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“Because it’s so rare and so unusual, it allows us to have a greater freedom in terms of the design, so we can produce something which is truly spectacular, extremely extravagant, and something that, if you were to drive it down the street, everyone would stop and look,” he said.
Brownridge’s interview with Riggs also touched on artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, tariffs and luxury demand in the U.S.
‘Barron’s Roundtable’ panelists Jack Otter, Ben Levisohn, Megan Leonhardt and Andrew Bary discuss the impact of tariffs on the auto industry and share top stock picks.
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He said more than 30 clients in the region have already committed to Project Nightingale, calling it a strong signal of demand.
“There are more than 30 clients that are committed to that car in this region. So that’s a great sign for me in terms of the demand which we see in… this part of the world.”
The delay in the decision is preventing major expansion on the site
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter
07:43, 15 Apr 2026
A map of how Dorset Innovation Park might look(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
A significant increase in employment at Dorset’s Innovation Park could materialise next year – once the Ministry of Defence finalises its future spending plans. Councillors have been informed that a delay in spending decisions by the MoD is already preventing one major expansion on the site, which already has planning approval, with other potential developments likely to proceed as soon as funding is confirmed.
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Several of the companies on the site are defence-related including those working on the development of autonomous and semi-autonomous machines for land, sea and air.
The Dorset Council-owned enterprise zone site has recently completed the acquisition of additional land next to the site with discussions also taking place about attracting a hotel after a consultant’s report indicated it should be commercially viable.
Other discussions under way include plans for a new gatehouse, which is currently regarded as a drawback for the Winfrith site, and a proposal to establish a catering outlet, possibly located at the Battlelab.
Councillors on the shareholders committee have also been informed that approaches are being made for a permanent education satellite facility on the park – with discussions having taken place with Bournemouth University, Yeovil College and Plymouth University.
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The shareholders committee was told that Fareham Borough Council, which owns a similar business park, ‘took off’ after securing a permanent higher education facility on its site.
Businesses already operating at the Dorset site are understood to be supportive of securing an education partner, which would assist with their own workplace training programmes, with many indicating it is crucial to future job creation and staff retention.
Outstanding issues include public transport links to the site from the surrounding area, with priority being given to connections from Wool railway station to the Innovation Park – proposals under consideration include establishing a bus route and exploring alternative options such as hire electric bikes and scooters.
Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for finance, Cllr Simon Clifford, told the shareholders meeting he was ‘heartened’ by the progress being made by the company which will eventually assume day-to-day management of the site – a responsibility currently being shared with Dorset Council officers.
Small deep value individual investor, with a modest private investment portfolio, split approx. 50%-50% between shares and call options. I have a B.Sc. in aeronautical engineering and over 6 years of experience as an engineering consultant in the aerospace sector. The latter statement is not relevant in any way whatsoever to my investment style, but I thought to add it for self-indulgent purposes. I have a contrarian investment style, highly risky, and often dealing with illiquid options. How illiquid? Well, you can land a Jumbo on the spread and still have clearance for take-off. From time to time, I buy shares, mostly to not be categorized as a degen by my fellow investor friends, therefore the 50%-50% allocation. My timeframe tends to be between 3-24 months.I like stocks that have experienced a recent sell-off due to non-recurrent events, particularly when insiders are buying shares at the new lower price. This is how I often screen through thousands of stocks, mainly in the US, although I may own shares in banana republics. I use fundamental analysis to check the health of companies that pass through my screening process, their leverage, and then compare their financial ratios with the sector, and industry median and average. I also do professional background checks of each insider who purchased shares after the recent sell-off. I use technical analysis to optimize the entry and exit points of my positions. I mainly use multicolor lines for support and resistance levels on weekly charts. From time to time I draw trend lines, taken for granted, in multicolor patterns. Note: I tried to keep my introduction as real, and authentic as possible. I dislike empty suits, high-level BS, deep-level BS, unnecessary jargon, and self-indulgent, third-person written introductions with an air of superiority.Thanks for reading my introduction!
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The shares of IT companies surged up to 5% on Wednesday, amid overall optimism on Dalal Street and Wall Street following hopes for fresh Iran-US talks, along with easing concerns about AI-led disruption.
After taking a significant beating earlier this year due to AI worries and war-led inflationary concerns, the stocks have partially recovered so far in April. Nifty IT jumped more than 2% to emerge as one of the top sectoral gainers on the markets today.
Fresh hopes for Iran-US peace talks
Pakistani officials cited by the Associated Press indicated on Tuesday that Islamabad has proposed a second round of talks to the United States and Iran, while US Vice President JD Vance earlier said negotiations with Iran “did make some progress” and US President Donald Trump said earlier “we’ve been called by the other side” and “they want to work a deal.”Trump hinted at the second round of talks, saying Iran talks ‘could be happening over the next two days’ in Pakistan, as quoted by Reuters, citing the NY Post. He said that Washington was more ‘inclined’ to go to Pakistan for the peace talks that could possibly bring an end to the nearly seven-week-long war in the Middle East. The renewed hopes for fresh peace talks, after the previous round collapsed over the weekend, boosted investor sentiment.
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Earlier, the raging war in the oil-rich Middle East and the subsequent rally in energy prices had led to inflationary worries in the US. IT companies derive a major portion of their revenue from the US economy, inflationary worries and concerns around subsequent lower demand impacted IT stocks back home on Dalal Street. However, the renewed optimism has boosted investor sentiment.
AI worries
Before the Middle East war, it was artificial intelligence that dampened sentiment for the IT stocks earlier this year. The tech stocks saw a massive decline in February with the launch of new and innovative artificial intelligence tools by AI startup Anthropic, which triggered worries around disruption in the software services. Back on Dalal Street, shares of Infosys, Wipro, TCS, HCLTech and other IT companies, saw a sharp selloff.However, while some doomsday prophets painted a grim picture for IT shareholders, some analysts were quick to point out that an overall replacement of software engineers by AI is unlikely. The new technology would instead increase efficiency across the companies, boosting margins, according to them.
Goldman Sachs released its Q1 earnings on Monday. During an analyst’s call, David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, said he is hugely forward-leaning on the power of artificial intelligence to accelerate growth at the bank. “Whenever you have accelerations in new technology, there are going to be bumps, there will be risk issues, and recalibrations. But the power of this technology to use it in an enterprise to increase efficiency is incredibly constructive,” he added. Entrepreneur and financial expert Gurmeet Chaddha highlighted that Solomon claimed that AI taking over enterprise software is not easy.
IT shares rally
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) shares, which recently fell after its Q4 results, gained more than 3% today to trade at Rs 2,551 apiece.
Wall Street ended higher yesterday, with the S&P 500 jumping more than 1% to close near the record high level it had hit in January. Tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained nearly 2% while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%. Microsoft shares gained more than 2%, while Amazon rallied nearly 4%.
Calm before the storm?
Despite the optimism, some caution is warranted. After previous Claude models rattled investor confidence in the sector, Anthropic’s latest release, a preview of a model called Mythos is spooking investors. “Mythos’ significant improvement in software engineering-related tasks is a departure from the trend of incremental improvements between consecutive frontier models,” Kotak Institutional Equities said in a note. “These developments could have implications for IT services firms.”
Additionally, Trump is notorious for his decision flip flops and the peace talks have already once failed, keeping investors on the edge and sentiment fragile.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
Papilo, the Swinton-based waste management group, has completed its third acquisition in the last 12 months(Image: Papilo)
A Greater Manchester waste management group backed by private equity firm Palatine has made its third acquisition in a year. Papilo has acquired REKK Recycling, which is based in Uddingston near Glasgow, in a move that also expands its reach across the UK.
Michael Gibson, who joined Swinton-based Papilo as CEO earlier this month, said: “REKK is an excellent strategic addition for Papilo and enhances our geographical presence into Scotland.
“Like ourselves, the company’s ethos is built on best-in-class customer service and on supporting better environmental outcomes through recycling. Founders Steven and John have done a fine job in building the business and I am pleased that along with their team they are remaining with the group for the next phase of growth.”
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Greg Holmes, senior investment director at Palatine Impact Fund said: “REKK is an excellent fit for Papilo – not just geographically, but in its shared commitment to diverting waste from landfill and supporting clients to take a more responsible approach to resource management.
“This is Papilo’s third acquisition in under a year as we build a business of true scale in the circular economy in partnership with the ambitious management team and we are well-positioned to continue that growth through further strategic M&A.”
The transaction, whose value was not disclosed, was funded by Kartesia and Virgin Money. Papilo was advised by Gateley (legal), Fellwood Advisory (debt advisory), MHA Smalley (financial and tax due diligence) and Luminii Consulting (commercial due diligence). Advisers to REKK included KBS (corporate finance) and Mackrell (legal).
The Federal Government publishes the spending and revenue numbers on a monthly basis. The charts and tables below give an in-depth review of the Federal Budget, showing where the money is coming from, where it
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