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Hitting ‘Point Blank’, Israel Unveils ‘Breakthrough’ Loitering UAV That Can Be Carried In A Soldier’s Backpack

As loitering munitions continue to hog the limelight globally, Israel’s defense manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries has unveiled a system that could be hand-launched and recovered based on the operator’s discretion.

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On January 19, the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled a new compact hand-launched loitering missile or an attack drone, that can land back in a soldier’s hand without detonating. The ‘Point Blank’ is a small electro-optic guided missile that fits within a soldier’s bag pack.

The missile is hand-launched, operated by a single soldier, and can take off from and land vertically back on the soldier’s hand.

IAI said in a press release, “IAI has unveiled its POINT BLANK electro-optically guided missile that can be carried in a soldier’s backpack. The system answers the battlefield requirement to provide tactical units ranging in size from small tactical teams to battalion level, with an independent and organic capability to increase their lethality.”

The IAI also announced that the US Department of Defense (DoD) had given IAI a multimillion-dollar contract to quickly develop and deliver “ROC-X,” a variant of the Point Blank system.

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