Israeli Air Force Negev Desert UAP 2015

On July 8, 2015, Israeli Air Force F-16I Sufa fighters were scrambled from Nevatim Air Base after Negev air defense radar detected an unidentified contact at 60,000 feet altitude near the Dimona Nuclear Research Center — Israel's sensitive nuclear facility in the Negev Desert. The F-16I crews achieved brief radar contact at altitude margins of the aircraft's operational ceiling. The object demonstrated ability to operate at altitudes exceeding the Sufa's practical ceiling. When the aircraft reached the extreme altitude margins, the contact performed a rapid departure that Israeli radar showed as an acceleration to well above Mach 4. The encounter was classified by the Israeli Defense Forces. Details emerged in 2022 when a former IAF officer spoke to Israeli defense journalists under conditions of anonymity. The proximity of the encounter to the Dimona nuclear facility drew comparison to documented US cases of UAP incursions over nuclear facilities.