| Ein Shemer Airfield | |
| Nativename: | Hebrew: מחנה עין שמר |
| Iata: | HDA |
| Icao: | LLES |
| Type: | Military |
| Owner: | Israel Defense Forces |
| Operator: | Israeli Air Force |
| Location: | Hadera, Haifa District |
| Elevation-F: | 95 |
| Elevation-M: | 29 |
| Coordinates: | 32.4369°N 35.0006°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Israel north haifa#Israel |
| R1-Number: | 10/28 |
| R1-Length-F: | 3990 |
| R1-Length-M: | 1216 |
| R1-Surface: | concrete, asphalt, bitumen bound macdam |
Ein Shemer Airfield (Hebrew: מחנה עין שמר, English: Shemer's Source) also called Hadera East is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base in northern Israel, located approximately 6 km east of Hadera in the Haifa District, named after the nearby kibbutz Ein Shemer. It houses no fighter jets or helicopters but UAVs for testing and a defense missile battery with long-range radar.
Between 1942 and 1948 it was operated by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) as RAF Ein Shemer. During this time, "RAF Ein Shemer was the largest military airfield in the country" and hosted "seven ..RAF squadrons and 1,500 RAF personnel." Between the autumn of 1943 and June 1945, it was home to 78 Operational Training Unit[1] training general reconnaissance crews, particularly using ASV radar and the Leigh light. It served as the workplace for as many as 600, mainly Arab, workers. This made it, in the opinion of its Commanding Officer, ‘the largest camp of its sort for civilian labour in the Middle East’.
No. 78 Operational Training Unit RAF was formed in February 1944 at Ein Shemer to train general reconnaissance crews, particularly using ASV radar and the Leigh light.
The squadrons operated from here:
After the British withdrew in 1948, the airfield was reduced in size and operated as a small civilian airfield for decades, which the Israeli military took ownership of again as a base in the early 2000s. The runway may only be used by unmanned aircraft, and any other use requires approval from the Civil Aviation Authority, due to strong resistance from the local residents.
In 2008 and again in 2012, the Israeli government proposed closing down Sde Dov and Herzlia airports and relocating their general aviation and civilian flight training activities to an expanded Ein Shemer airfield. Nearby residents however expressed strong opposition to the plan. In June 2019 the National Infrastructure Planning Committee voted to approve the plan but the local and regional municipalities vowed to continue opposing it.[2]
Since 2002 the base houses a complete Arrow 2 Theater Anti Ballistic Missile battery which includes around 150-200 Arrow 2 Block 4 missiles, several launchers, the Great Pine Radar (Super Green Pine) with a 1000 kilometer range and the Yellow Citron & Brown Nut elements of the system.[3] [4] The Arrow System is operated by the Israeli Air Defense Command, a unit of the Israeli Air Force (IAF).
The airfield is also the home of a control station for the IAI Heron UAV and got several hangars for their accommodation and maintenance. The IAI Malat Division is testing its newly developed UAVs here.[5] In September 2020, a Heron started from here and landed at Ben Gurion International Airport during commercial flight operations, a first for a UAV. The unmanned flight then returned to Ein Shemer Airfield and was controlled from there throughout the entire operation.[6]