| Haifa Naval Base | |
| Ensign: | IN Bach Tag.svg |
| Ensign Size: | 100px |
| Type: | Naval Base |
| Image Map Caption: | Map of ports in Haifa Bay |
| Garrison: |
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The Haifa naval base is a base of Israeli Navy, located in Haifa, Israel, and constitutes the main naval base of the Israel Defense Forces. The base is the hub of Israel's naval force. The naval base has submarines, missile boats and other vessels. On 7 February 2021, Brigadier General Tal Politis was appointed to serve as commander of the Haifa naval base, replacing Brigadier General Guy Goldfarb.[1]
In this base reside the 7th fleet (the submarine fleet), the 3rd fleet (the missile ship fleet); Squadron 914 (one of the BTS squadrons), the unit for underwater missions (ILTAM), the Institute of Naval Medicine and the fin unit . The main role of the base is to secure the shipping lanes of the State of Israel, to maintain and improve the operational capacity of the corps and to carry out routine security tasks . The base commander who is the commander of the northern arena in the navy is an officer with the rank of brigadier general and is also referred to as "Commander BH".[2]
Coastal squadrons are also located at the base: the technical squadron, the personnel squadron, the logistics squadron, the defense squadron and more.[2]
Haifa Naval Shipyard is in the west of the base.
On July 12, 1961 as part of the Thirteenth Navy Day celebrations, with the participation of important guests. Navy Commander Yohai Ben Nun and Haifa Mayor Abba Khushi inaugurated the new building of the Haifa base in the west of the port.[3]
On the night of April 20, 1979, four militants in a rubber boat penetrated the security system of the base in Rosh Hankara . They landed in Nahariya and attacked civilians. The condition of the sea, which was short waves and white waves, prevented the discovery of the boat even though the formation was on full alert. This event was a catalyst for refreshing all areas of the base and the detection system was strengthened with night vision devices. The militants from Lebanon continued with penetration attempts, but the detection and security system of the base prevented them all further attempts.[4]