Ovda Airbase

Ovda Airbase (בסיס עובדה, English: fact) is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base, located in the very south of Israel, around 40 kilometers north of Eilat, in a large plain of the southern Negev desert. It has two runways with lengths of 3,000 and 2,600 meters and a heliport. There are currently (2024) no operational fighter jets or helicopters stationed there, but the so-called "Aggressor Squadron" for pilot training. The international military aviation exercise Blue Flag takes place there every two years.

History
In March 1949 – 8 km northwest to the current base – a temporary airfield was set up during Operation Uvda to secure the southern Negev against Jordan shortly before the end of the First Arab–Israeli War.

In 1981 Ovda (Uvda) was opened as a military airbase – a replacement for the Etzion Airbase and others on the Sinai Peninsula, abandoned after the Camp David Accords (see map below).

From 1982 onwards it was also used as Ovda Airport for civil charter flights and from 1988 to 2019 for regular scheduled flights by holidaymakers from Europe who wanted to get to the seaside resort of Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba.

On 31 March 2019, the civilian part was closed, because the new Ramon Airport had now gone into operation, which is also much closer to Eilat.

Blue Flag
Since 2013, the international military aviation exercise Blue Flag has taken place on Ovda every two years in the fall, for which several Western countries send their pilots and fighter jets to Israel, where they undergo intensive training, which also includes the 115 Squadron "Flying Dragon" of the IAF with its role as aggressor. In addition to the air forces directly involved, numerous observers from other countries are also regularly present.

Units

 * 115 Aggressor Squadron "Flying Dragon" – operating F-16C/D Barak
 * IAF Ground Staff School
 * IAF Officers' School

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