The Israeli military has increasingly opted to deploy an unmanned version of Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozers to a number of battlefields. The remotely operated systems allows the IDF to flatten areas without risking additional troops.

According to The Times of Israel, Tel Aviv has deployed the unmanned D9 – or RobDozer – to Gaza and Lebanon since October 7, 2023, and Israeli officials say the IDF is ramping up its use of the system. One source told AFP Israel has used “robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare.”

The RobDozer was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which claims the platform is the “ultimate combat bulldozer.” IAI’s website explains that “The RobDozer’s integration into military engineering units significantly boosts their capability to rapidly alter landscapes to favor defensive or offensive operations.”

While the RobDozer can be remotely controlled, IAI claims it can even operate autonomously. As the Jerusalem Post reported last month, IAI “says it can operate on several levels of autonomous independence, ‘allowing it to dig trenches in the field, clear a route in difficult or otherwise impassable areas, and move large or suspicious obstacles.’”

While the company stresses that the platform ensures the safety of Israeli soldiers who no longer have to drive combat bulldozers in dangerous situations, it does not mention if the RobDozer can identify and avoid civilians during autonomous operation.

The Israeli state arms maker is also in the process of developing an unmanned M113 armored personnel carrier.

Combat bulldozers have played a major role in Israel’s military operations in Gaza, where large swaths of territory have been flattened by Israeli bombs. As the rubble is littered with unexploded munitions and potential Hamas-planted explosives, the IDF has used a large number of D9s to clear regions that were once cities in Gaza.

Tel Aviv has declared a buffer zone along the borders of Gaza, and Defense Minister Israel Katz recently expanded that zone to include the entire southern city of Rafah. Israeli forces have destroyed most structures in those areas and kill any Palestinians who try to approach.

Katz said that “Gaza will become smaller and more isolated, and more and more of its residents will be forced to evacuate from the fighting zones.”

Additionally, the IDF has built corridors that bisect the Strip, flattening the infrastructure in those areas as well. Israel now controls over 50% of Gaza.