Tel Nof Airbase (Hebrew: בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר תֵּל נוֹף, English: Lookout hill) (ICAO: LLEK), also known as Air Force Base 8, is the oldest and main base of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) located 5 km south of Rehovot, Israel. Tel Nof houses two strike fighter, two helicopter and a UAV squadron. Also located on the base are the Flight Test Center and several special units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), among others Unit 669 (heliborne Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)) and the Paratroopers Brigade training center and its headquarters.
No. 76 Operational Training UnitVickers Wellington - Formed at RAF Aqir on 1 October 1943, equipped with Vickers Wellington Mk.IIIs and Xs to train night bomber crews for squadrons in the Middle East, disbanding on 30 July 1945.[2] 76 OTU, despite operating Wellingtons, were also working up crews for B-24 Liberators. After completion of their course those crews were passed on to Liberator conversion units.[3][4]
A Greek pilot in front of a British Hawker HurricaneatRAF Aqir, 1939-1943
After the British withdrew in 1948, the base was named Ekron Airbase after this Israeli village and, from 1950, Tel Nof Airbase (English: Lookout hill). The name "Tel Nof" dates back to the 1930s, when the area was known by this name as an urban development area, similar to the then-thriving "Tel Aviv" (English: Spring hill).
On 29 May 1948, the first four fighter aircraft Avia S-199 of the first aircraft squadron 101 "First Fighter" of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) took off from here for their first mission, an attack on the Ad Halom Bridge on the eastern outskirts of Ashdod, which was in the hands of Egyptian troops. Important was less the modest military success of this operation than the shock to the Egyptian soldiers when they saw with their own eyes that Israel now had an Air Force.
During the 1948 Palestine War there was a provisional paratroopers unit in Israel, which was expanded from the beginning of the 1950s into a regular Paratroopers Brigade, whose headquarters and training center is still located on Tel Nof to this day. This brigade and its units has since been involved in many important operations in Israel's wars, such as: the Suez Crisis and the Six-Day War, where the conquest of the Old City of Jerusalem with the capture of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall by Israeli paratroopers was particularly remembered. One and a half kilometers west of Tel Nof is the main Paratroopers Memorial on Road 40, which commemorates those who fell in these units.
Tel Nof Airbase has been steadily expanded over the years, and during the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, seven air squadrons operated at the base. While the Six-Day War 1967 was still characterized by French-made fighter aircraft, US ones now dominate:
From 1976, the then new F-15A/B EagleBaz fighter jets were introduced with 133 Squadron "Knights Of The Twin Tail", which made Israel the first country in the world outside the United States to possess this aircraft. Because the landing of the first three planes was delayed on that Friday, 10 December 1976, the reception ceremony was also delayed and only ended shortly before the beginning of Shabbat. As a result, some government ministers didn't have enough time to return home before the start of Shabbat. Its "desecration" led to a government crisis and ultimately to the collapse of the coalition of the first government of Yitzhak Rabin.
On 1 October 1985, under the name Operation Wooden Leg, ten two-seat F-15B/D EagleBaz from Tel Nof (two of them in reserve) attacked the headquarters of the PLO near Tunis. On their 2,300 km long flight to the destination on the Mediterranean coast of Tunisia the F-15s were refueled several times by two Boeing 707Re'em. The headquarters were completely destroyed and - depending on the source - 50 to 75 PLO fighters were killed, including many leaders, but not Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The action was condemned without dissent in the UNO, and the USA also criticized it because it strained its relationship with Tunisia. The eight F-15 jets from Tel Nof involved received a corresponding symbol (target cross in the red circle with a wooden leg, see picture in the gallery below).[10]
Today (2024), Tel Nof is home to two strike fighter jet and two transport helicopter squadrons as well as a drone squadron. Also located there is the IAF headquarters and the Flight Test Center with one example of all aircraft variants (see F-15I Eagle Ra'am in the gallery above and F-35I Adir in the gallery under "Units").
Since January 2019, the so-called "Red Baron" Squadron has been operating on Tel Nof to train German soldiers on the IAI Eitan (Heron TP) UAV. IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) has built its own version of this UAV for the German Air Force, whose crews are now being trained by Israeli soldiers and technicians. This unit is the only non-fully Israeli squadron within the IAF.[11]
In November 2020, a brand-new F-35IAdir from the USA landed directly on Tel Nov. This specially equipped machine will serve as a test platform at the local Flight Test Center for further improvement of this stealth jet (see gallery under "Units").[12]
At the end of 2021, Israel ordered twelve new CH-53K King StallionWild transport helicopters from the US for two billion dollars, which will complement the CH-53D Sea StallionYas'ur on Tel Nof in the next few years. In July 2023, the 114 Squadron "Night Leaders" was temporarily closed and merged with the 118 Squadron "Night Riders". The former will reopen in the future and accommodate the new CH-53K King Stallion as they arrive from the United States (see gallery under "Units").[13][14][15][16]
The aging F-15C/D EagleBaz fighter jets on Tel Nof will be replaced in the medium term by new F-15IA (Israel Advanced), which are based on the F-15EX Eagle II. 25 new jets for a complete squadron have already been ordered (but still need US approval), which will not be delivered until 2028 at the earliest, and 25 more aircraft are to be added at some point. These new, powerful strike fighter jets would be needed to carry heavy bunker-busting bombs that could then be used against Iran's underground nuclear facilities.[17][18]
During the Gaza War 2023/24, drones of the type IAI Eitan (Heron TP) from Tel Nof are 24 hours a day in the air over Gaza to provide the IDF with target data for its attacks against positions of the terrorist militia Hamas.[19] According to unofficial sources, these drones are also capable of attacking targets on the ground using guided weapons.
The F-15D Eagle Baz #957 from Tel Nof involved in the collision at an exhibition in 2011
In May 1983, an F-15D EagleBaz from Tel Nov and an A-4 SkyhawkAyit collided in mid-air during an exercise over the Negev desert in southern Israel. While the A-4 pilot ejected, the two-seat F-15D managed to land safely at nearby Ramon Airbase, despite having its right wing almost completely torn off in the collision. This was only possible because the F-15 pilot turned on the afterburners, compensating for the lack of lift. The landing took place at about twice the normal speed, and the jet only came to a stop shortly before the end of the runway. The aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas was so impressed by what was happening that it sent over a new right wing free of charge. The aircraft with the number 957 was repaired and put back into service (see photo on the right).[29][30]
Memorial in She'ar Yashuv, one of the two crash sites
On 26 July 2010, a CH-53 helicopter of 118 Squadron from Tel Nof crashed near the town of BrașovinRomania during a Romanian-Israeli military exercise in the Carpathian Mountains. All seven passengers died: four Israeli pilots, two Israeli mechanics and a Romanian liaison officer. An investigation determined that the crash was most likely due to human error.[32]
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