Hatzerim Airbase

Hatzerim Airbase (Basis Heil HaAvir Hatzerim) is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base in the Negev desert on the west outskirts of Beersheba, near kibbutz Hatzerim. Apart from fighter jets, it houses the IAF Flight Academy, the IAF Aerobatic Team and the IAF Museum.
History
Hatzerim Airbase was constructed during the early 1960s and declared operational on October 3, 1966. It was the first base built from the ground up, as a new base for the IAF, and not on existed base areas of the Royal Air Force. Initially, the IAF Flight Academy was moved here from Tel Nof Airbase and has since been using the northwestern part of the airbase and its runway together with the IAF Aerobatic Team. The southern area with the three other runways is reserved for operational fighter jets (see map in gallery).
The Flight Academy had already flown the French two-seater Fouga CM.170 Magister Tzukit at Tel Nof Airbase since 1960, which it kept for a total of 50 years until it was decommissioned in 2010 and was also flown by the Aerobatic Team during this time. These Hatzerim aircraft were also used during the Six-Day War to carry out attacks on enemy radar stations and anti-aircraft artillery and also did close air support (CAS).
From 1996, the "Hammers" Squadron based on Hatzerim received the F-15I Ra'am, which was adapted to Israeli needs and is derived from the F-15E Strike Eagle. From 2006, the "Knights Of The Orange Tail" Squadron finally received the adapted F-16I Sufa, derived from the two-seat F-16D Block 50/52 Plus. Both squadrons had previously flown the F-4E Phantom II Kurnas since the 1970s.
On September 6, 2007, four F-15Is from the "Hammers" Squadron on Hatzerim and four F-16Is from Ramon Airbase flew an attack on an almost completed nuclear reactor in Syria under the code name Operation Outside the Box and destroyed it. It was only more than 10 years later that Israel officially acknowledged the attack. They wanted to prevent Syria from building atomic bombs from the nuclear material obtained.
Current
In addition to two squadrons with operational fighter jets, the base also houses the IAF Flight Academy, the IAF Aerobatic Team and – outside the security area – the IAF Museum. The Flight Academy trains prospective pilots on the German Grob G 120A Snunit, the US Bell 206 Sayfan helicopter, the Italian M-346 Lavi jet trainer and other aircraft. All pilots in the aerobatic team also work as instructors at the flight academy and fly the same machines in both facilities, currently T-6 Texan II Efroni two-seater.
The 25 F-15I Ra'am jets from the "Hammers" Squadron, which date back to the 1990s, are to be brought up to date in the coming years and receive the same avionics and systems as the USAF's new F-15EX Eagle II. At the same time, the even older F-15C/D on Tel Nof will be gradually replaced by new F-15IA (Israel Advanced) – the Israeli variant of the F-15EX.
Units
69 Squadron "Hammers" – operating the F-15I Ra'am
102 Squadron "Flying Tiger" – operating the M-346 Lavi for the Flight Academy
107 Squadron "Knights Of The Orange Tail" – operating the F-16I Sufa
IAF Flight Academy – operating the Grob G 120A Snunit, Bell 206 Sayfan, Beechcraft King Air Tzofit and others
IAF Aerobatic Team – operating the T-6 Texan II Efroni
Note: IAF aircraft can usually be assigned to their squadron by the symbols on the tail
See also
List of airports in Israel
Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2023
Outline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
References
External links
Hatzerim on globalsecurity.org
Hatzerim Israel Airforce Museum (Hebrew)
Israeli Air Force bases