Two members of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) have been killed after their plane crashed in the Negev desert.

The bodies of Major Amichai Itkis, 28, and 30-year-old Major Immanuel Levy were found in the Ramon crater early on Thursday morning, after the crash he previous evening.

They had been flying an F-16I Sufa (Storm) fighter jet on a routine exercise. The IAF has temporarily suspended training flights for Sufa jets.

An IAF committee is investigating the cause of the disaster.

In July six Israelis and one Romanian were killed on board a military helicopter after an air crash outside of Bucharest.