IDF to buy urban warfare ladder developed by ex-soldier

New ladder, which is lightweight and when closed extends 1.5 meters, was developed by a former member of the IDF’s General Staff Reconnaissance Unit.

By YAAKOV KATZ, HERB KEINON, TOVAH LAZAROFF
IDF soldiers at Syrian border Naksa Day 311 (R) (photo credit: Reuters)
IDF soldiers at Syrian border Naksa Day 311 (R)
(photo credit: Reuters)
The IDF is purchasing a new tactical ladder that will be distributed among special forces and regular infantry battalions to enable soldiers to climb high walls with greater ease during urban warfare.
The new ladder will replace the current ladder that is used by the IDF, which needs to be carried by at least two soldiers, and held in place by two more soldiers, so it does not collapse when in use.
Ladders are often needed by soldiers to climb over obstacles during operations inside cities – or to surprise a target and enter a building through a window.
The new ladder was developed by a former member of the IDF’s General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (better known as Sayeret Matkal), who used his own personal experience to develop a new ladder that will be user-friendly for soldiers.
The new ladder is lightweight and when closed extends 1.5 meters, and can be carried by a single soldier.
It can open up to over 10 meters and be held in place by one soldier.
“Ladders are extremely important when operating in urban centers,” a senior officer from the army’s Ground Forces Command explained this week. “Without a proper ladder, soldiers can be stuck out in the open where they are vulnerable.”