Jabal Hamzah Ballistic Missile Test and Launch Facility
قاعدة إطلاق و اختبار الصواريخ الباليستية بجبل حمزة
Part of the Egyptian Army
near 6th October City and Sheikh Zayed City, Giza, Cairo in Egypt
Jabal Hamzah Ballistic Missile Test and Launch Facility is located in Egypt
Jabal Hamzah Ballistic Missile Test and Launch Facility
Jabal Hamzah Ballistic Missile Test and Launch Facility
Location of Jabal Hamzah Ballistic Missile Test and Launch Facility
Coordinates30°07′32.7″N 30°36′18.5″E / 30.125750°N 30.605139°E / 30.125750; 30.605139
TypeMissile launch facility
AreaUnknown[1]
Site information
OwnerEgyptian Armed Forces
OperatorEgyptian Army
Open to
the public		No
ConditionUnknown[1]
Site history
BuiltLate 1950 (1950)s[2]
Battles/warsYom Kippur War[3]
EventsAl Zafir and Al Kahir SRBMs testing[3][4]

Ballistic missile test and launch facility was built in the late 1950s and it is the oldest functioning ballistic missile installation in the developing world, located near Jabal Hamzah 62 kilometres (39 mi) west-northwest of Cairo.[2]

History

After Egypt's defeat in 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt started the missile program and became interested in ballistic missiles after the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser and the 1956 Suez Crisis, as the importance of ballistic missiles had arisen to penetrate Israeli airspace.[4][5]

Egypt attempted to acquire ballistic missiles from the Soviet Union but failed and then Egypt focused on the indigenous rocket program that was developed by German scientists based on German V-2, Wasserfall and the French Véronique rockets technology in 1960.[4]

During the late 1950s, Egypt constructed the Jabal Hamzah ballistic missile facility to conduct test fires.[2]

Chronology of events at Jabal Hamzah ballistic missile facility

Overview

In 2010, an analysis had been published using satellite imagery from commercial sources that shows between 2001 and 2009, Jabal Hamzah facility experienced an increase in activity and expansion as new constructions took place including a new missile launch pad and horizontal processing building.[2][6][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Gebel Hamza Test Range". NTI. James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Bermudez Jr., Joseph S. (2010). "Pyramid Scheme: Egypt's Ballistic Missile Test and Launch Facility". Jane's Intelligence Review. 22: 48–52.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jabal Hamzah". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d "Egypt - Missile". NTI. James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  5. ^ Mellen, Cyndi (27 April 2010). Lessons from Nuclear Reversal: Why States Reverse Ballistic Missile Policy (Thesis for Bachelor of Arts in Political Science). University at Albany, State University of New York. pp. 13–14. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Reports have Egypt upgrading ballistic missile facility". Intelligence Quarterly. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  7. ^ Pollack, Joshua (July 2011). "BALLISTIC TRAJECTORY The Evolution of North Korea's Ballistic Missile Market" (PDF). The Nonproliferation Review. 18 (2). Routledge Taylor and Francis Group: 416. doi:10.1080/10736700.2011.583120. ISSN 1073-6700. S2CID 147559608. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
Categories