| Sdot Micha Israeli Air Force Base Air Wing 2  | |
|---|---|
שדות מיכה | |
| Sdot Micha,Jerusalem District in Israel | |
 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military missile base |
| Owner | Israel Defense Forces |
| Operator | Israeli Air Force |
| Location | |
  Sdot Micha Airbase Shown within Israel Show map of Jerusalem Sdot Micha Airbase Sdot Micha Airbase (Israel) Show map of Israel | |
| Coordinates | 31°44′19″N34°55′10″E / 31.73861°N 34.91944°E /31.73861; 34.91944 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1962 (1962) |
| In use | 1962 – present |
Sdot Micha Airbase (in Hebrew:שדות מיכה,lit. Micha Fields) is anIsraeli Air Force (IAF) missile base and depot, whose existenceIsrael neither confirms nor denies. It is situated in the center of Israel, halfway fromJerusalem to theMediterranean Sea and extends nearly 13 km from southeast to northwest. The center of the base is located 1.5 km north ofmoshavSdot Micha and it has neither a runway nor a visible heliport. Its facilities can now be clearly seen on satellite images. Nuclear warheads are supposed to be stored at the base, which can also be fired by the missiles there.[1]
The secret airbase has been called many names.[2] It is most commonly called by sources asSdot MichaAirbase due to its proximity tomoshavSdot Micha,[3] and less commonlyTirosh orZekharia Airbase (including different spelling), due to other nearby moshavs of these names[4] orKanaf 2 Airbase (lit.Wing 2 Airbase).[5]
In July 2017 theIDF temporarily uncovered the name of the airforce's 11th and secret base calledSdot HaElah, but after the press had picked it up, it disappeared again from their website. The moshav Sdot Micha is located in theValley of Elah, (עמק האלהEmek HaElah in Hebrew),[6][7] 4 km northwest of whereDavid andGoliath are believed to have fought. The stream Elah (Nahal HaElah) runs south of the moshav but is dry for most of the year.
A 2005 official Israeli document regarding the Privatization of the Military Industry of Israel Ltd. later renamedIMI Systems (Resolution no. M'Kh/24 of the Ministerial Committee on Privatization Affairs dated 28.08.2005) states: "IMI's rights in part of the land division known as "Area 209" designated for the"Arrow" battery were sold by IMI to the Ministry of Defense under an agreement dated May 10, 2005."[8] In the official documents published at the time of the sale of IMI Systems toElbit Systems (Resolution No. M'Kh/2 of the Ministerial Committee on Privatization of 23.12.2013) the base is referred to again asArea 209 (in Hebrew שטח אש 209). Therestricted airspace andrestricted military area covers an area of 12,550dunams in theMateh Yehuda Regional Council, and was allocated to the Ministry of Defense by theIsrael Land Authority.[9][10][11]
It is believed that the base is amissile launch facility for nuclear-tippedJericho 2IRBMs and probably Jericho 3ICBMs. Satellite images show launch areas for mobile missiles very explicitly, which is part of their deterrence.[12][13][2]
The roads for the mobile missile systems are in between ridges of hills, which has the advantage that the missile bunkers could be dug into the limestone hills around and only need massive doors to protect them from nuclear explosions – direct hits excluded. The missile sites are also hidden there and cannot to be seen from the outside.[14]
Newer and sharper satellite images indicate that there are two gates and two so-called launchers per cave. The northern area has 14 of these caves and the southern area has 9, which offers space for a maximum of 46 launchers. About one and a half kilometers northwest of these positions, there is also a fenced and additionally secured area with four bunkers within the base, probably a storage facility for nuclear warheads.[15][16]
In 2012, anArrow 2 missile battery – the third in Israel alongsidePalmachim andEin Shemer – has been deployed there, near themoshavTal Shahar.[17] The Arrow system was developed jointly by Israel and the USA in the 1990s and can shoot down incoming nuclear missiles at high altitudes. For target detection and tracking, it uses theSuper Green Pine Radar installed on Ein Shemer with a range of 1,000 kilometers. The Arrow system is operated by theIsraeli Air Defense Command, a division of theIAF.
According toJane's Defence Weekly, Sdot Micha is also a location for the newArrow 3 ABM, deployed there in the beginning of 2017. Satellite photos show four rectangular bunkers capable to withstand nuclear explosions and nearby sites of mobile launchers with six Arrow 3 missiles each. The US have accidentally published where the exact locations of the bunkers are.[18][19][20]
According to press reports, there is also a test stand for rocket engines on the site, where, among other things, the engine for the new Arrow 4 rocket is being tested. In April 2021, the loud sound of an explosion could be heard from there.[21]
Northwest of the base isTel Nof Airbase (see map), where two squadrons ofF-15 jets are stationed. Since such aircraft can carry free-fallingatomic bombs over long distances, it is assumed that the nuclear weapons for this are stored somewhere on the Tel Nof Airbase or in the northwestern part of Sdot Micha, where many depots and bunkers are located.[22]
All Israel's larger missiles are developed and built at theIsrael Aerospace Industries (IAI) MLM Division missile plant south ofBe'er Ya'akov, 20 km northwest to the base.[23][24]
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Before the1948 Palestine War, thePalestinian Arab villages ofAl-Burayj (Bureij),Sejed,Jilya andQazaza were located on the site of today's base, but their residents fled or were expelled in the course of the fighting.[25] The taking of the al-Buraij by Israeli soldiers, for example, happened at the beginning ofOperation Ha-Har on the night of 19 to 20 October 1948.[26]
The extensive base was established in 1962 under the Hebrew name2 כנף (Wing 2) by the later commander of the IAFBenjamin "Benny" Peled.[27]
On6 October 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel by surprise on theYom Kippur holiday. As they initially pushed theIDF back, nuclear bombs were said to have been mounted on fighter jets atTel Nof Airbase and onJericho missiles at Sdot Micha, with the intent to strike should the enemy armies have advanced further.[28] If true, this did not occur as Israel was able to repel both armies.[clarification needed]
On the morning of 7 October 2023, the day of theHamas-led attack on Israel, a missile fired from theGaza Strip is said to have hit the base compound, causing a wildfire of 40 hectares, but no military facilities were seriously damaged, asThe New York Times claims to have found out based on satellite images.[29] At the same time, it was emphasized that the nuclear warheads presumably stored there in bunkers could never detonate by an accident or external influence.[30]
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