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Israel Showcases Latest Ultra High-Tech Military Inventions
Tel Aviv (AFP) Mar 09, 2005 Israel on Wednesday paraded its latest high-tech military inventions at a Tel Aviv weapons fair, wowing the crowds with James Bond-style gadgets nicknamed "Eye Ball", "Mosquito and "FireBall". Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) proudly presented its new 120/121mm smart mortar bomb, commonly referred to as "FireBall", with pinpoint accuracy guided by GPS and laser-homing modes for a single-shot target kill in urban warfare. Another star was the state-of-the-art "Eye Ball R1" - a high-tech camera packaged into a hand-held impervious ball, which can be thrown into any building, tunnel or cave to enable remote observation from relative safety. Weighing little more than 500 grammes (18 ounces), the system designed by ODF Optronics has a 360-degree rotating sensor able to relay video and audio transmission to a remote and mobile display video screen. For closer combat, voyeurs also drooled over the Corner Shot, which allows police, security officers and soldiers to view targets "around the corner" through a mini video camera attached to the barrel of a shot gun. Israeli soldiers have maximised use of the technology since the Palestinian uprising broke out in September 2000, during closed, urban warfare. Back to IAI, the company's stand devoted to drones, gliders and micro UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) was a major attraction at the fair, which closed Wednesday, pulling in military delegates from more than 30 countries. Secretive, silent and deadly accurate for the real-time data they can transmit via video-link, such weapons have been employed to devastating effect by the Israeli military in targeted assassinations of militant leaders. Today the Mosquito is one of the smallest of these UAV systems, measuring 30 centimetres (12 inches) and 34 centimetres (14 inches) wide. Weighing 500 grammes complete with silent motor, batteries and camera, it offers real-time high-quality video for up to 60 minutes of flying time at 300 feet (90 metres). Further up the scale is the I View glider, which can be launched by catapult and land by parachute without recourse for a runway - being marketed as a chief attraction for front-line warfare. With a range of up to 80 kilometres (50 miles) and a flight life of four to six hours, it can relay real-time data via video from a maximum altitude of 20,000 feet (six kilometres). Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express SAIC Demonstrates Live-Fire From Vigilante VTOL UAV Mclean VA (SPX) Mar 07, 2005 Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has announced the successful live-fire of four 2.75" unguided rockets from its Vigilante VTOL UAV (Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) system during flight testing conducted at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground. |
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