The fighting in the Gaza Strip requires the IDF to operate not only on the ground, but also in tunnels and fortified bunkers that Hamas has built beneath the surface. These are often tunnels that are heavily fortified and are in fact long bunkers that stretch out for a very long length under the soil of the Gaza Strip.
This challenge led us to find out what tools the IDF has to deal with these impenetrable structures and how Israel can dismantle the tunnels and structures underground. In this area we found several types of bombs and other chemical tools that could help our forces fight in the Gaza Strip.
Diamond fighters inside a terror tunnel (archive), photo: Liron Moldovan
Hail bombs
The Air Force has bombs of three sizes called hail. These bombs are basically ordinary dumb bombs on which a bomb guidance system called SPICE has been installed.
This kit turns a conventional drop-down bomb into a smart bomb using guidance based on an electro-optical sensor or GPS. This is a system that does not have its own propulsion, but rather glides or glides through the air. Its gliding range reaches up to 150 kilometers. With the help of the space, the bomb becomes accurate with a radius of impact of up to three meters from the planned target.
IDF Spokesperson
As mentioned, this is actually a guidance system that allows ordinary bombs to hit and penetrate protected targets and even buildings with a layer of concrete protection. In addition, these bombs can hit simple Hamas and Hezbollah tunnels and destroy them. There are three types of hail bombs:
"Light hail"
This is a small bomb made in Israel intended mainly for the destruction of buildings. Immune to threats. The bomb has the ability to maneuver and react in real time on its way to the target. This is a small bomb that will not penetrate strong bunkers, only armored structures.
"Steel hail"
This is advanced Israeli munitions, which act like a "smart" bomb. The uniqueness of the system is that it knows how to plan the bombing accurately by identifying the target from above. Once identified, the system directs the target and only then is an attack performed. The steel hail system is also designed to hit armored but not heavily protected underground targets.
SDB bomb – "sharp hail"
This is a bunker-piercing bomb whose concrete thickness is one meter (one thousand millimeters). Under the name SDB there are several bomb models. The most common model is the GBU-39/B known as SDB I. A more advanced GBU-53/B model known as SDB II is under development.
The original GBU-39/B SDB I was equipped with GPS-assisted inertial navigation guidance that allowed it to attack stationary targets such as fuel depots, bunkers, radars and stationary surface-to-surface batteries. Raytheon's more advanced GBU-53/B SDB II also includes a thermal seeker and radar with automatic target detection capability, allowing mobile targets such as tanks, vehicles and armored personnel carriers to be attacked.
IDF forces neutralizing tunnels in Gaza, photo: IDF Spokesperson
MK-83
MK-83 is an American general-purpose bomb used in a variety of guided bombs as well as anti-bunker bombs. The aerodynamic steel casing of the Mark 83 bomb contains 202 kg of tritonal explosives.
The MPR bombs
This is a family of bombs made in Israel whose purpose is to hit bunkers or fortified targets and destroy them. The conceptual basis of these bombs is the MK-83 bomb, but they perform significantly better and constitute a new generation of bunker-busting family. There are three bombs in this family of bombs, whose names we will list below.
MPR-500
It is a bomb weighing 250 kg, the bomb can penetrate four concrete walls or floors 200 mm thick each, and only then explode when it does not break beforehand.
MPR-1000
It is a bomb weighing about 453 kg with a penetration capability of one and a half meters.
MPR2000
It is a bomb weighing about 900 kilograms and has the ability to penetrate concrete with a thickness of 2.5 meters.
GBU-43 MOAB bomb
The name of the bomb MOAB means "massive aerial armament", but in the past it was also referred to as the "mother of all bombs". The bomb weighs 9,797 kg (almost 10 tons), is GPS-guided, and is designed to crack fortified and underground targets. The bomb has a destructive radius of 300 meters and can penetrate bunkers with many layers of reinforced concrete. In the sand, the penetration of the bomb into the ground reaches over 50 meters. It should be noted that Israel sought to acquire this bomb during the Obama administration and was refused, but the Trump administration authorized Israel to acquire this bomb. However, it is not known whether she actually arrived in Israel.
GLSDB bomb (illustration),
MOP
The professional name of the bomb is GBU-57A/B. It is a smart, huge bunker-cracking bomb. It weighs over 13.5 tons and is 6.2 meters long and 80 centimeters in diameter. Its main purpose is the penetration of heavy fortifications. It is capable of penetrating underground bunkers to a depth of up to 61 meters. The bomb has the ability to penetrate through reinforced concrete, to a depth of 8 meters.
This bomb is forbidden for sale outside the United States, but in 2020 there were two US senators who worked to pass a law that would allow Israel to purchase the bomb. In practice, it is not known whether Israel has such bombs.
Sponge bomb - chemicals for clogging tunnels
This is a chemical bomb without explosives that allows filling of cavities or entrances to tunnels so that it is impossible to penetrate through this filling. The bomb consists of a container containing two liquids separated by a metal barrier and mixed when the barrier is removed. The material in the bomb reacts and its activation results in a foam explosion that expands and then freezes to fill the large spaces. This is a light bomb that can reach the battlefield on one fighter.
The use of such a bomb requires caution and knowledge because it is a dangerous chemical substance that may cause permanent or temporary blindness of the operator. Chemicals of this type are also common in the civilian market, which uses them to make hard structures such as stone. It is interesting to note that a modified version of chemical use was made by Marines in Somalia. There a non-dangerous foam was used, which turned into a sticky substance that paralyzed enemy combatants.
According to various reports, Israel has several types of chemicals that can be used in battles against tunnels.
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