Armoured battlefield bulldozer

This heavy-duty Caterpillar is built to survive bullet and bomb attacks

The Caterpillar D9 bulldozer is expertly designed for its role in construction work. Taking to farms, building sites and roadsides, their usual passengers drive them in areas of little threat. However, some of the Caterpillars are sent to work in much more turbulent and dangerous places. Working in active war zones, threats to their ability to carry out their engineering tasks are much greater as they are subjected to bullets and explosives. To utilise this powerful machine’s tools safely, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) added extra protection to transform these vehicles into armoured military beasts. Some even say the IDF Caterpillar D9 is indestructible.

These machines have been deployed to carry out their engineering roles while under attack, and have proved successful during the most challenging operations. The bulldozer’s resilient design enables it to dig moats, create sand barriers and even save other vehicles in danger.

Israeli troops have relied on this vehicle since the 1950s. During this time the Caterpillar D9 has picked up a nickname, ‘Doobi’. In contrast to its tough defences, this name means

‘teddy bear’ in Hebrew.