Jerusalem  - Assaf Ramon, the son of the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, died Sunday after the fighter jet he was flying crashed, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.

The F16 jet crashed in the Mount Hebron region during a training exercise. Ilan Ramon died in 2003 in the Columbia shuttle disaster.

Assaf reportedly had ambitions to become an astronaut. The IDF announced that Assaf would posthumously be awarded the rank of captain. (dpa)