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This is intended for people interested in the subject of military guns and their ammunition, with emphasis on automatic weapons.
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19-Jan
I like this: https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.php?aircraft_id=2025
a drone for use by the company that can both provide recce and cas
19-Jan
IWI point blank looks like only a slightly more polished winged take on ,DIY quadcopter drone with RPG warhead we see in Ukraine , range and endurance are nothing to brag about , but that is down to choice of using ducted fans. The main upgrade over say switchblade 300 seems to be vertical landing in soldier's hands (although honestly, i don't see why that would be better than unassisted vertical landing at point x)
Looks kinda not too packable , the thrust/power losses due to using EDF over props for hover must be considerable but for hand retrieval props are a bit of a no-go.
IAI itself calls the ammunition a “guided missile” (missile, “Til”), but in terms of the engines used, speed and appearance, this is a typical loitering ammunition (one-time strike UAV). It is also reported that the US Department of Defense has entered into a long-term contract with IAI for many millions of dollars for the development and purchase of this ammunition.
Point Blank is carried in an individual fighter's backpack. Launch from the hands up, then the ammunition goes into horizontal flight. Point Blank provides high-precision and destructive destruction of various targets, which allows a small unit to independently carry out reconnaissance and strike missions, without the need to request fire support from outside. Moreover, Point Blank can be used for reconnaissance or return to the operator in case of cancellation of the attack, landing, like takeoff, is vertical in the hands of the operator. The development of warheads for the shock version is still ongoing (in the video we see a hit on the target without warheads).
For the USA, the ROC-X variant was ordered, which has some changes at the request of the US Department of Defense. The customer from the US Department of Defense is IWTSD (Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate), i.e. Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate. The first prototypes will be handed over to the US for testing and evaluation as early as fiscal year 2023, i.e. until the end of September of this year (the fiscal year of the US federal government runs from October 1st to September 30th of the following year).
The following performance characteristics of Point Blank are given:
20-Jan
It seems Roc-X will be evolved from the existing loitering munition -> Point Blank
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has received on a competitive basis a contract from the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate (IWTSD) of the US Department of Defense for the rapid development and supply of ROC-X barrage ammunition based on the IAI Point Blank ammunition, with the delivery of the first prototypes for testing in fiscal year 2023.
Point Blank weighs 6.8 kg, carries a 2 kg warhead and is about one meter long. The device is carried in a backpack and is launched manually, while being able to perform vertical take-off and landing. Four electric motors are placed on the cruciform wing.
The flight altitude of the device is 500 m, the range is up to 10 km, the barrage time (in hover or flight mode) is up to 20 minutes, the flight speed is up to 80 m / s (288 km / h). Point Blank can also be used in reusable mode as a reconnaissance UAV, using a built-in electron-optical system and an additional battery.
13-Feb
Jane's Senior Land Warfare Analyst, Oscar Widlund, speaks to MBDA about their new UAV, the Spectre.
The idea is kinda fascinating. A small drone that does recce, but also can hit with two missiles
13-Feb
This looks like one of those mio USD drones that also weigh 50kg not might not quite be a company-level drone , one of the things that is a bit baffling is use of Enforcer missile , which is rather short-range at sub 2000m bringing the drone well into the air defense zone of even basic 12.7mm RWS ,i imagine multiple suicide drones being cheaper than this 'jack of all trades master of none' drone , as there are acready reusable suicide drones on the market , that can be parachute landed and relaunched if no target found or when used as recce only platform.
One thing that is also quite baffling is an incredibly short range of this thing,
''Spectre reportedly has a cruising speed of 180 km/h (111 mph), a cruising altitude of under 100 meters (about 330 feet), and a combat range of over 10 km (6.2 miles)''.
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i see the most utility in these aboard ships, shipborne helicopter is a mighty expensive piece of gear taking prime real estate and its jobs could in many cases be taken over by a drone fraction the size and cost , in addition, smaller drones like this could add air support to smaller surface combatants
19-Feb
I think that most of the systems that were fielded last week are outdated now...