Israeli Army To Go Underground For Subterranean Warfare Training

Israeli Army's Kfir Infantry Brigade is all set to undergo underground training with sophisticated robots and elite Special Forces.

The soldiers are constantly training to protect Israel from the air, at sea, on land and, just as importantly, beneath the Earth’s surface.

To that end, the Lavi Battalion’s operations company participated in a week-long underground combat training exercise last week. The unique exercise took place at the Northern Command’s central training base and was designed to train the fighters, who normally specialize in the Judea and Samaria region, for combat in all arenas.

Underground warfare delivers its own set of unique challenges to soldiers seeking to clear entrenched terrorist positions. Given the technological difficulty in gaining an image of what is taking place beneath the surface, combined with the severely limited scope of physical movement for soldiers inside tunnels and bunkers, subterranean combat demands professional and unique fighting techniques.

Among them, the integration of Special Forces and use of the incredible EyeBall – a ball-shaped camera that conducts a 360 degree scan of the area in which it is deployed.

“First you need to scan the area with the EyeBall in order to ensure that the enemy has not placed explosive charges in the tunnel,” Maj. Ram explained. “After entering, you need to advance with caution because it is a sealed area, like a corridor with many rooms on the sides. You need to work very professionally – if there is anyone in one of the rooms he could cause great damage leading to many casualties.”