Hatzerim Airbase

Hatzerim Airbase (בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חֲצֵרִים, Basis Heil HaAvir Hatzerim, lit. Homesteads) is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base on the northern edge of the Negev desert in the Southern District of Israel, 6 km west of Beersheba, near kibbutz Hatzerim. Apart from operational fighter jets, it houses the IAF Flight Academy, the IAF Aerobatic Team and the IAF Museum.

History
Hatzerim Airbase was constructed during the 1960s and declared operational on 3 October 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.

From 1968 to 2015 there was a helicopter squadron here, most recently with UH-60 Black Hawk, which then moved to Palmachim Airbase. From 1969 until today there's the "Flying Tiger" Squadron with jet trainers on Hatzerim, which flew the TA-4H Skyhawk Ayit two-seater for many years (see gallery), but also its one-seater fighter version A-4H/N.

Flight Academy and Aerobatic Team
After the base was opened, the IAF Flight Academy was relocated here from Tel Nof Airbase and has since then mainly used the northwestern part of the airfield and its runway for its propeller aircraft. Two-seat turboprop training aircraft, which are also flown by the IAF Aerobatic Team, are stationed on the much larger southern area with its three runways. The jet trainers are also located there, alongside operational IAF fighter jets. The northern area still has a heliport, but since the last helicopter squadron withdrew, it has only been used by the Flight Academy's training helicopters (see map).

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 in different variants 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 2010, the Flight Academy and the Aerobatic Team were equipped with the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II Efroni, a two-seat turboprop aircraft that has similar flight characteristics to a light jet and is ideal for both purposes. It is used in over a dozen Air Forces worldwide for training purposes.

At the end of May 2024, the Flight Academy received new Bell 206 Ofer helicopters to train its IAF pilots. These are equipped with Israeli systems and replace the older Bell 206 Sayfan models dating back to the 1970s.

"Hammers" and "Knights Of The Orange Tail" Squadron
The 69 Squadron "Hammers" was founded in 1948 at Ramat David Airbase and relocated to Ekron Airbase in 1949, got its name from the B-17 Flying Fortress bombers used at the time. From 1969 it flew the F-4E Phantom II Kurnass (see gallery below) and from 1996 - then at Hatzerim - received the F-15I Ra'am, which is derived from the F-15E Strike Eagle.

The 107 Squadron, which was also founded in 1953 at Ramat David under a different name, was known as the “Knights Of The Orange Tail” Squadron from 1971 onwards at Hatzerim, where it also flew the F-4E Phantom II Kurnas. From 2006 it finally received the F-16I Sufa, which was adapted to Israeli needs and derived from the two-seat F-16D Block 50/52 Plus (see also "Units").

Operation Outside the Box
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 (see photo of the destroyed reactor in the gallery directly below).

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-I Snunit, the US Bell 206 Sayfan helicopter, the Beechcraft King Air Tzofit transport aircraft, the Italian M-346 Lavi jet trainer and other aircraft (see also "Units"). 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 turboprop two-seater.

Crash of a Grob G 120A-I Snunit
On 24 November 2020, a Grob G 120A-I Snunit from the IAF Flight Academy crashed during a training flight in an open field near Kibbutz Mishmar HaNegev 15 kilometers north of the base. The 42-year-old flight instructor and his 19-year-old student pilot were killed. In March of the following year, after extensive investigations, the IDF announced that the accident had been caused by a stall at too low an altitude, which means human error. The remaining 15 aircraft of this type from Germany on Hatzerim were banned from taking off for a month after the crash. It was the first fatal incident of its kind since 2008, when a flight instructor and a student died on board another type of training aircraft.

Nuclear weapons
Hatzerim, beside Tel Nof Airbase, is believed to play a role in Israel's nuclear deterrence, as both bases are home to F-15 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons over long distances. It is unknown whether such weapons are also stored at Hatzerim other than at Tel Nof and in the depots at Sdot Micha Airbase. However, the newer type of F-15I Ra'am, which is based at Hatzerim only, is better suited to carry these weapons than the older models of the F-15 at Tel Nof. The F-16I Sufa stationed here could also be intended for this purpose.

A few hundred meters east of the central runway, there is an additional fenced and secured rectangular area − within the base with two earth-covered bunkers – that could serve as a nuclear weapons storage facility and from where the F-15I and F-16I fighter jets could be equipped with such weapons (see map and current satellite images: 31.23623°N, 34.67877°W). Since normal weapons depots within bases are not so extensively secured, there is much to be said for a nuclear weapons depot, and one can assume that this was set up so conspicuously as a deterrent, even though Israel has not yet admitted that it has nuclear weapons.

F-15I and F-15IA
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-15A/B/C/D at Tel Nof will be gradually replaced by new F-15IA (Israel Advanced) – the Israeli variant of the F-15EX. There will probably also be an exchange of F-15 jets between the bases so that the traditional "Hammers" Squadron is equipped with the latest machines. The renewal of the F-15 jets had been delayed for a long time – on the one hand for budget reasons and on the other hand because of political instability in recent years.

2023 Hamas terror attack
During Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, armed Palestinians came within a few kilometers of the airbase, which is about 25 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. Since it was initially not known how the situation would develop, the fighter jets on Chazerim had already been prepared for evacuation. The terrorists had already invaded the town of Ofakim, north of the airbase, killed residents or taken them hostage and were only driven out or killed by the IDF the following day after fierce fighting.

Units

 * 69 Squadron "Hammers" – operating the F-15I Ra'am strike fighter jet
 * 102 Squadron "Flying Tiger" – operating the M-346 Lavi jet trainer for the Flight Academy
 * 107 Squadron "Knights Of The Orange Tail" – operating the F-16I Sufa strike fighter jet
 * IAF Flight Academy – operating the Grob G 120A-I Snunit, Bell 206 Sayfan, Beechcraft King Air Tzofit and others
 * IAF Aerobatic Team – operating the T-6 Texan II Efroni turboprop two-seater together with the Flight Academy

Note: IAF aircraft can usually be assigned to their squadron by the symbols on the tail