It is located in the Negev desert approximately 30 km from Beersheba, a couple of kilometres north of the kibbutz of Urim.

Duncan Campbell, an intelligence specialist speculated that Urim is "akin to the UK-USA pact's Echelon satellite interception ground stations.

"[2] The Echelon system was established by the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as a global network of signal interception stations.

The base has a row of satellite dishes that are allegedly able to intercept phone calls, emails, and other communications from anywhere in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia, as well as antennas that can monitor shipping.

There are also numerous barracks and operations buildings lined along the road that leads to the base, which is protected by high security gates, fences, and guard dogs.