Central Collection Unit (Unit 8200)

 military, intelligence agency

Unit 8200 (יחידה 8200 or shmone matayim in Hebrew) is an Israeli Intelligence Corps unit, responsible for collecting signal intelligence and code decryption. It is also known in military publications as the Central Collection Unit of the Intelligence Corps.

Unit 8200 was established in 1952 using primitive surplus American military equipment. Originally, it was called the 2nd Intelligence Service Unit and then the 515th Intelligence Service Unit. In 1954, the unit moved from Jaffa to its current base at the Glilot junction.

Unit 8200 is the largest unit in the Israel Defense Forces, comprising several thousand soldiers. It is comparable in its function to the United States' National Security Agency, except that it is not a separate civilian (i.e. Ministry of Defense) body.

Unit 8200 is led by a Brigadier-General whose identity remains classified. The Urim SIGINT Base is subordinate to Unit 8200 and is the most important signal intelligence-gathering installation operated by Israel's military.

In March 2004, the Commission to investigate the intelligence network following the War in Iraq recommended turning the unit into a civilian National SIGINT Agency, as is in other Western countries, but this proposal was not implemented.