Espionage scandal in Israel: Iran breaches Tel Nof airbase, steals F-15 secrets

The Israeli military has been hit with a major espionage scandal. On April 22, Israeli boradcaster KAN reported the arrest of two Air Force technicians stationed at the Tel Nof airbase, two Air Force technicians stationed at the Tel Nof airbase located in Central Israel, roughly 5 km south of the city of Rehovo. The two technicians were accused of leaking sensitive data, including sensitive technical data related to F-15 fighter jets, including engine diagrams and flight plans.

The breach is considered one of the major counter-intelligence failures of Israel. The report further indicates that the two men were tasked to gather sensitive intel on senior officials like former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. They were allegedly connected via social media and paid through cryptocurrency. They have reportedly handed over information like plans of Israeli aircraft engines as well as photos of a flight instructor’s face.

The report also indicates that there were eight other soldiers who were compromised but failed to report the matter to the appropriate authority. The base commander has been summoned to the Shin Bet office, following the incident. The breach looks serious and triggered a high-level investigation.

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In 2025, a reserve soldier in an Iron Dome unit, Yuri Eliasfov, was arrested for passing on information about the air defence system. Similarly, 10 Israeli soldiers were arrested for performing roughly 600 missions, which included photographing Nevatim and Ramat David airbases. These are similar techniques Israel has been employing on Iran for years. The Shin Bet reported a 400 per cent surge in Iranian espionage attempts in 2025, a trajectory that has only accelerated in early 2026 with the breakout of the US-Iran war.