https://breakingdefense.com/2023/11/israel-uses-f-35i-to-shoot-down-cruise-missile-a-first-for-joint-strike-fighter/

Comment:  A cruise missile shoot down by an F-35 has prompted serious discussion about another role for this aircraft:

Quote: [Red text added for emphasis].  This article is dated 2 Nov 2023.

Israel uses F-35 to shoot down cruise
missile, a first for Joint Strike Fighter

The Trump administration’s Missile Defense Review, released January 2019, included language calling for the F-35 to be developed and armed for an ICBM intercept mission. And In 2019 The Jerusalem Post reported that “amid concerns that Iran may attack Israel with cruise missiles, a senior Lockheed Martin representative revealed on Tuesday that the stealth F-35 Adir fighter jet can detect and intercept such threats.” At the time Gary North, vice president for customer requirements and aeronautics at Lockheed, “told reporters that the AN/APG-81 AESA radar allows the advanced jet to identify and intercept airborne threats flying at a low altitude and at high speeds, like cruise missiles.”

The Lockheed Martin F35 fighter jet plane, also known as the Adir, in a test flight(photo credit: LOCKHEED MARTIN AERONAUTICS/ LIZ LUTZ)
Source:  https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/f-35-can-identify-and-destroy-cruise-missiles-lockheed-martin-611214

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https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/01/17/pentagon-considering-an-icbm-killing-weapon-for-the-f-35-but-can-it-afford-it/

Quote:  Article Dated 17 Jan 2019

Pentagon considers an ICBM-killing weapon for the F-35, but is it affordable?

The Trump administration’s Missile Defense Review , released Thursday after months of anticipation, carves out an enticing new potential role for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The jet “has a capable sensor system that can detect the infrared signature of a boosting missile and its computers can identify the threatening missile’s location,” the review states. “It can track and destroy adversary cruise missiles today, and, in the future, can be equipped with a new or modified interceptor capable of shooting down adversary ballistic missiles in their boost phase and could be surged rapidly to hot spots to strengthen U.S. active defense capabilities and attack operations.”

The report gives the Air Force and Missile Defense Agency six months to deliver a report on how best to integrate the F-35 into the larger missile defense architecture.