IDF to introduce new sensor system to locate tunnels in Gaza

The IDF has completed testing a new network of sensors aimed at detecting underground tunnels, which it plans to deploy in the South to uncover Hamas smuggling routes between Gaza and the Sinai.

One of the most difficult challenges Israel has to face in the Gaza Strip is dealing with the maze of underground tunnels through which Hamas smuggles terrorists and weapons for use against Israel, military sources told Maariv Monday. To meet this challenge, the IDF has developed a new technology, codenamed “Mispar Hazak,” or Power Number, that will locate tunnels and enable the military to destroy them.

A successful test of the technology was held near the Kerem Shalom Crossing, not far from where IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped in June 2006 by Hamas members who entered Israel through an underground tunnel.

In the course of the recent tests, soldiers posing as terrorists dug a line of tunnels of varying depths using digging tools similar to those commonly used by Palestinian smugglers and terrorists. Power Number successfully located the would-be infiltrators. One senior officer described the test results as “impressive.”

The technology was developed by three graduates of the prestigious Talpiot program, an elite IDF training program for soldiers who have demonstrated academic excellence in the sciences. The soldiers pursue academic degrees in physics, math or computer science while serving in the IDF. The developers worked on Power Number for two years before its recent test.

Col. Tal Hermoni, commander of the Southern Brigade of the Gaza Division, said the underground threat from Gaza continues to be troublesome as Hamas digs tunnels into Israel in order to kidnap soldiers, Maariv reported. Hermoni also said that the IDF’s primary means of addressing the threat was through military intelligence.

The 2007 state comptroller’s report cited an “ongoing failure in dealing with the problem of the tunnels” after 17 soldiers were killed either directly or indirectly by activity from the Gaza tunnels. The report said that all attempts to respond to the threat were flawed, and cited three attempts by the IDF at the time to advance systems built by both military and civilian developers, none of which met the requirements.

While details of the new technology are classified, according to Maariv the system involves placing geophones 1.5 meters (approximately 5 feet) into the ground. Geophones measure energy waves in the earth, and they are equipped with acoustic components taken from sensors used by the navy as well as from devices used in searching for oil.

Due to the encouraging success of the initial tests of the system, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh has approved funding for further development of Power Number. By the end of 2013, the first phase of the system is expected to be fully operational along 10 kilometers (slightly more than 6 miles) of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The next phase will cover an additional 54 kilometers (33.5 miles).

The entire project, including development, is expected to cost NIS 200 million.