The Israel Defense Forces have developed a first-of-its-kind grenade that doesn't explode when struck by a bullet.
The bullet-proof grenade was developed following a March 2010 incident on the Gaza Strip border in which two IDF soldiers were killed when a bullet hit a grenade lodged in the vest of one of the soldiers, causing it to detonate.
"After that incident, we were ordered to develop a grenade that wouldn't explode when hit by a bullet," said Captain Ziv Berger, head of the light ammunition department in the IDF Ground Forces' Technology Brigade. "Grenade shrapnel is one of the things that scares soldiers the most."
The grenade currently used by most IDF combat units has not changed since the 1950s. According to Captain Berger, the new grenade, which will gradually replace the old one, weighs the same as its predecessor and is operated in the exact same manner.
Captain Berger said that he couldn't give precise details on the new grenade because it is patented.
"I can only say that changes were made in the internal structure of the grenade, that have made it so the grenade won't explode when struck by any type of bullet. There is no grenade like this anywhere else in the world," he said.
