Airport type Military Location Be'er Sheva 08L/26R 8,530 Address Be'er Sheva, Israel | Operator Israeli Air Force Elevation AMSL 1,312 ft / 400 m 8,530 2,600 Elevation 400 m | |
Nevatim Israeli Air Force Base (Hebrew: בסיס נבטים) (IATA: VTM, ICAO: LLNV), also Air Force Base 28, is an Israeli Air Force base located southeast of Be'er Sheva, near moshav Nevatim. It was built as a rough runway in 1947 for the Sherut Avir, the air wing of the Haganah, and was named Malhata. It was reopened in 1983 as a new modern airbase with two runways as the result of joint Israeli and US government funding as part of the IAF's redeployment out of its bases in the Sinai after it was returned to Egypt following the Camp David Accords. Since 2003 the base has gradually received more squadrons of F-16s. A third runway was built in the mid-2000s decade as part of a project to accommodate the transfer of military activities previously taking place at Ben Gurion International Airport (Air Force Base 27) to Nevatim.
Israel's fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35I's are expected to be based in Nevatim once they are delivered.