Palmachim Airbase

Israel / Hamerkaz / Yavne /
 military airbase, Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
Palmachim Air Force Base (Hebrew: בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר פַּלְמַחִים) is an Israeli military facility and space launch centre located near the cities of Rishon LeZion and Yavne on the Mediterranean Sea. It is named after nearby Kibbutz Palmachim on the Mediterranean shore. The base is home to several IAF helicopter and UAV squadrons, and serves as a rocket launch site for the Arrow missile.

Palmachim Air Force Base was built by the IDF/AF in the 1970s, originally as a test site for missiles conducted by 151 Squadron. Also used as a helicopter base, the single runway is 2,000 meters long. Palmachim is the main IAF/DF helicopter base, and squadrons based at this large station include 124 (UH-60A, S-70A), 160 and 161 (AH-1E/F), and 200 (UAV's). The Palmachim area is used as an artillery range by the Israeli Defense Forces, from the shoreline to a distance of 5 km offshore.

Palmachim is also used to launch the Shavit space launch vehicle fitted with "Ofeq" satellites into retrograde orbit by launching over the Mediterranean, acting as Israel's primary spaceport. This ensures that rocket debris falls into water, and that the rocket does not fire over regional enemy countries near Israel that could use the technology. On 22 January 1998, Israel attempted to launch the Ofek-4 satellite on a Shavit booster from Palmachim. The $50 million imagery intelligence satellite was to replace Ofek-3, which was launched in 1995. While the first stage of the rocket performed nominally, problems caused the flight to be destroyed two minutes into flight.

The US-funded Isaeli Arrow anti-ballistic missile interceptor is tested from Palmachim, which is also the site of the launch of target missiles for these test. The Citron Tree fire-control system and the Green Pine radar, which track the targets, are probably co-located at Palmachim for these tests.

Units:
- 123th Squadron – operating UH-60 Black Hawk
- 124th Squadron – operating Sikorsky S-70, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
- 151st Squadron – Missile Testing Squadron
- 161th Squadron – operating Elbit Hermes 450 UAVs
- 166th Squadron – operating Elbit Hermes 900 UAVs
- 200th Squadron – operating IAI Heron UAVs

www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/palmachim....
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmachim_Airbase
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   31°54'39"N   34°41'59"E

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