[Infowarrior] - Israel unveils portable hunter-killer robot

[Richard Forno]

Israel unveils portable hunter-killer robot
Thu Mar 8, 2007 5:31 AM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli defense firm on Thursday unveiled a
portable robot billed as being capable of entering most combat zones alone
and engaging enemies with an onboard armory that includes a machine-pistol
and grenades.

The VIPeR, roughly the size of a small television, was invented as part of
Israel's efforts to develop weaponry that could reduce the risks to its
forces from hand-to-hand fighting against Palestinian or Lebanese Hezbollah
guerrillas.

The manufacturer, Elbit Systems Ltd., said that the VIPeR's small size and
dual treads enable it to move "undeterred by stairs, rubble, dark alleys,
caves or narrow tunnels".

As well as bomb-sniffing and bomb disposal equipment, the VIPeR can carry an
Uzi machine-pistol or plant a grenade. The weapons would be aimed using an
onboard video camera.

According to Elbit, which has close links with the Defense Ministry, Israel
plans to deploy the VIPeR among its infantry units after field tests. The
robot could also be of interest to foreign police units or U.S. forces in
Iraq and Afghanistan.


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