As the Israeli army builds up its forces in preparation for a full-scale invasion of Gaza, its troops prepare to face a maze of narrow streets, vast networks of tunnels, harsh traps and sniper positions.
In this urban environment, the D9R armored bulldozer, affectionately nicknamed Doobi or ‘Teddy Bear’, will be essential to a successful attack.
A ground operation in the densely populated areas of the Palestinian enclave will require specialized equipment to clear the way for the 300 tanks and 173,000 soldiers massing at the border.
If fighting breaks out, the Israeli-modified Caterpillar bulldozer will be used to detonate mines and improvised explosive devices and destroy roadblocks.
With 15 tons of added armor and a reinforced blade, the D9R is nearly impervious to guns or explosives and will play a key role in allowing infantry to advance safely.
The D9R armored bulldozer, affectionately nicknamed Doobi or ‘Teddy Bear’, will be essential to a successful attack
In an urban warfare scenario, the D9R will be used to clear mines and explosives from the path of advancing ground troops and tanks.
The D9R gets its nickname ‘teddy bear’ from military slang for a bulldozer of any kind.
It can carry a crew of two soldiers in its armored cabin – a driver and a commander – where bulletproof glass offers them protection against sniper and machine gun fire.
In 2015, the D9R was upgraded with ‘armor armor’ to give the vehicle more protection against rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) widely used by Hamas in previous conflicts.
Truncated armour, also known as cage or rod armour, works by allowing the missile’s sensitive detonator tip to pass through before deforming the explosive body so that it either does not detonate or is less effective.
Measuring 26.2ft long x 13ft long x 14.7ft wide (8m long x 4m long x 4.5m wide) and weighing 62 tonnes, the D9R is a massive piece of military hardware capable of carving up any obstacle in its path .
The D9R dozer is powered by a Cat 3408C engine capable of producing 405 horsepower and pulling over 70 tons.
This not only helps the bulldozer move through obstacles, but also allows for various infrastructure support roles, such as digging trenches and building bridges or defensive structures.
Teddy Bear can also be equipped with a mounted machine gun, grenade launcher or smoke projector for additional combat capabilities.
In 2018, the Israeli military also began fielding and operating the D9R Panda, a remotely operated version of the bulldozer for more hostile environments.
The cost of a D9R is unclear as the vehicles are purchased directly from Caterpillar by the Israeli military and later fitted with their specialized armor.
However, the cost of a new Cat D9 bulldozer is at least $900,000 (£739,624) even before any additional upgrades are made.
In response to the massacre of 1,300 Israelis by Hamas terrorists, the Israeli military has already hit the 25-mile (45 km) Gaza Strip with over 6,000 bombs containing a total of 4,000 tons.
Palestinian authorities claim that 1,400 people have been killed so far by Israeli bombing, and today Israeli authorities ordered the evacuation of Northern Gaza in preparation for an attack.
With its reinforced blade and armor, the Teddy Bear is almost completely impervious to bullets and explosives
Specialized armor was added in 2015 as a specific counter to the rocket-propelled grenades frequently used by Hamas.
The Israeli military announced that it has deployed the D9R Panda, a remotely operated version of the armored bulldozer for even more hostile environments
Israel is using its massive military might – including thousands of tanks, fighter jets and troops in a full-scale ground invasion of the enclave in response to a series of terror attacks that killed 1,300 Israelis
While Hamas is believed to have only about 10,000 rockets and cannot match the size or technological capacity of the Israeli military, the group’s fighters are still expected to offer bloody resistance.
Before reaching the Hamas strongholds, Israeli forces will have to breach a series of defensive lines including mines, mortar targets, anti-tank weaponry and potential suicide bombers.
Since 2007, Hamas is believed to have built up to 1,370 tunnels under the enclave, forming a network hundreds of miles long called the “Gaza Metro”.
As part of the 2008 Operation Cast Lead, a large-scale incursion into Gaza, the Israeli military deployed 109 D9Rs which had a key role in destroying buildings such as bunkers and tunnels.
During the most recent conflict in 2014, at least 66 Israeli soldiers and six civilians were killed in the fighting, while in Palestine the UN reported that 2,133 people were killed of which 1,489 were civilians.
Given the current plans for a new attack on Gaza, the fighting this time will no doubt be bloody on both sides, with advanced technology like the D9R playing a vital role for Israeli forces.
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