Israel confirms Apache squadron relocation to northern base

The Israeli Air Force has confirmed the permanent relocation of its 190th “Magic Touch” Squadron, an AH-64A Apache attack helicopter unit, from Ramon Airbase in the south to Ramat David Airbase in the north. A ceremony marking the squadron’s arrival was held at Ramat David, the military said in a statement posted to social media.

“The transfer of the squadron to Ramat David Airbase is intended to improve the availability of the combat helicopter fleet for defending the country’s borders by dispersing combat helicopter squadrons in the north and south,” the military said.

The confirmation lands one day after Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur air base in northwestern Syria’s Idlib province, hitting runways and storage facilities with eight airstrikes. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said the strike targeted preparations for a Turkish military deployment at the base, saying Syria was “on the verge of breaching” an agreed security status quo by allowing Turkish forces there. Turkey condemned the strike, and Syria’s foreign minister told Axios his government had no intention of hosting a permanent Turkish presence at the site.

The Abu al-Duhur strike marked Israel’s first attack on Syrian government assets since March, according to Al Jazeera, and has sharpened a standing rivalry between Israel and Turkey over influence in post-Assad Syria. Ankara has been training Syria’s army and helping rebuild state institutions since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024, according to i24NEWS. Israel’s concern centers less on Syria’s current military capacity and more on what a Turkish-backed Syrian military presence near its border could become, with radar, aircraft or air defense systems potentially restricting Israeli Air Force freedom of movement over Syrian airspace.

Ramat David sits roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Haifa, positioning squadrons based there for rapid response to threats from Lebanon, Syria and Iranian-linked proxies along the Golan Heights and Galilee. Before the 190th’s arrival, the base was primarily an F-16 hub, hosting three squadrons that have played a central role in Israeli air operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon and in Gaza, according to The War Zone.

For years, the Israeli Air Force kept both of its Apache squadrons, the 190th and the AH-64D-flying 113th “Hornet,” concentrated together at Ramon in the Negev desert. The new arrangement places a full Apache squadron permanently in the north for the first time in years.

The military’s public rationale for the relocation has centered on lessons drawn from the October 7, 2023, attack, when only four Apaches were on standby nationwide and Israel’s helicopter response depended on aircraft that happened to be forward-positioned at Ramat David that morning. During the war that followed, the 190th Squadron provided fire support to ground forces in Gaza and along the northern border, and took part in intercepting drones during confrontations with Iran, according to Ynet.

The squadron traces its history to 1980, when it was established at Palmachim Airbase flying MD 500 Defender helicopters, before moving to Ramat David and later Ramon as the Air Force restructured around the Apache in the 1990s. It has taken part in both Lebanon wars, the Second Intifada and multiple rounds of fighting in Gaza.