Ovda military airfield

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Military airfield Ovda
Airbase 10, location in Israel:
Ovda Airbase (Israel)
Ovda Airbase
Ovda Airbase
Characteristics
ICAO code LLOV
IATA code VDA
Coordinates

29 ° 56 '25 "  N , 34 ° 56' 9"  E Coordinates: 29 ° 56 '25 "  N , 34 ° 56' 9"  E

Height above MSL 455 m (1493  ft )
Basic data
opening 1981
operator Israeli Air Force
Runways
02R / 20L 3000 m of asphalt
02L / 20R 2600 m of asphalt



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The military airfield Ovda the Israeli Air Force (IAF) located in the south of Israel , about 40 kilometers north of the resort of Eilat , in a great plain of the southern Negev - desert . The airport's ICAO code is LLOV, the IATA code VDA. The airfield has two runways with lengths of 3000 and 2600 m.

history

It was opened as a military airfield in 1981 (as a replacement for the Etzion military airfield on the Sinai Peninsula , which was abandoned after the Camp David Agreement , see gallery) and was also used for civil flights from Europe from 1988 to 2019 . On March 31, 2019, the civil section was closed again, as the new Ramon Eilat Airport has meanwhile started operations.

Aggressor training relay

In March 2005 the so-called Aggressor Training Relay 115 “Flying Dragon” was brought back to life on Ovda. At this point she was flying both F-16A jets and AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters. Your task is or was the simulation of enemy jet or helicopter attacks and especially their tactics in order to create the most realistic scenario possible for an emergency. The squadron also includes a surface-to-air unit that simulates enemy air defense systems. The squadron is not intended for actual use, although the pilots are trained fighter pilots and the jets are operational machines.

Similar to the USAF , the relay also offers this training service to other nations. In May 2006 she trained with the 101st Squadron of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and in 2008 she prepared 55 pilots of the Czech Air Force for their deployment in Afghanistan . At the beginning of December 2010, the 115th Squadron hosted some tornadoes of the Italian Air Force and carried out a week-long training with them. A year later it turned into a two-week training session. On the Israeli side, F-15 and F-16 jets of different squadrons were flown, on the Italian side tornadoes and Eurofighter Typhoons . In March 2012 the Polish Air Force also took part in a two-week training course on Ovda.

Blue flag

The Blue Flag exercise has been taking place on Ovda every two years since 2013, and many Western countries send their pilots and fighter jets to Israel, where they undergo intensive training, including the 115th IAF squadron with its role as “aggressor " is involved. In 2017 pilots from Israel, the USA, Poland, Italy, Greece, India, France and, for the first time, Germany took part. Pilots from Israel, the USA, Greece, Italy and Germany took part in Blue Flag 2019 at the beginning of November 2019 for 12 days. For the first time, Israeli F-35I Adir jets were also involved in the exercise.

Others

In 2013 all of the IAF's AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters were decommissioned, including those on Ovda. In April 2017, the older F-16A / B jets of the 115th Squadron were replaced by newer, used F-16C / Ds.

units

  • 115th Aggressor Training Squadron F-16C / D Barak combat aircraft ("Flying Dragon" Squadron)
  • IAF Ground Staff School
  • IAF Officers School

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Ramon Eilat Airport
  2. Anshel Pfeffer: Flying Dragons simulate the enemy for Israel Air Force pilots . Haaretz. September 19, 2010. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved on September 20, 2010.
  3. ^ Shlomo Aloni: Israeli Reds . In: Air Forces Monthly . No. 269, September 2010.
  4. ^ Raanan Weiss: Dogfighting over the Dunes . In: Air Forces Monthly . No. 269, September 2010.
  5. ^ IAF and Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) Conclude Joint Training in Israel . IDF spokesperson. December 9, 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 10, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / dover.idf.il
  6. Israel Air Force plan Inviting Foreign Air Forces to a Multi-National Air Exercise for 2013 . Defense update. December 17, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  7. Shai Rosenfeld, Karen Tocatly: Joint Exercise with Polish Air Force . Israeli Air Force. March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  8. ^ Cooperation over competition: Eight nations fly in Israel's largest-ever air drill
  9. ^ Israel's F-35 Aircraft Take Part in Blue Flag Int'l Exercise for First Time
  10. ^ IAF Grounds Apache Fleet after Fatal Crash . August 8, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  11. Edeb Biton: The "Red" Squadron has integrated the "Barak" . April 4, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  12. ^ IAF website: The “Red” Squadron has Integrated the “Barak”
  13. ^ IAF website: The Flying Dragon Squadron