IDF develops tiny bulldozer for warfare inside Palestinian cities

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The IDF has developed a tiny bulldozer for combat operations inside Palestinian cities, a military publication reported. The little machine is designed for rumbling down narrow roads and paths in the closer quarters of Palestinian cities, where old sections are warrens of crowded alleyways between rundown concrete block buildings. In previous operations, Israeli forces have sent full-size bulldozers ahead of ground troops, causing considerable damage to buildings. The current edition of the soldiers' weekly Bamahaneh carries a picture of the new machine, called "Lioness." It looks like a toy - a vehicle taller than it is wide or long, painted olive drab, with small wheels, and a black shovel attached to the front. It has room for one person behind heavily reinforced and protected windows. The main innovation, besides its small size, is a firing post for the driver, the article said. The driver can fire in all directions, staving off attacks and "destroying targets." Ordinary bulldozers do not allow the driver to open fire. The article quoted Col. Amir Kochavi of the ground forces engineering section, said the new bulldozer was developed "because there are different combat requirements than we faced before, mostly because of the need to carry out engineering tasks in crowded, built-up areas."