As a part of efforts to develop weaponry that could reduce the risks to its forces from hand-to-hand fighting against Palestinian or Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, an Israeli defence firm has unveiled the VIPeR. Roughly the size of a small television, the 25-pound, 9-inch-tall portable robot is supposedly capable of entering most combat zones alone and engaging enemies with an onboard armory that includes a machine-pistol and grenades. The manufacturer, Elbit Systems Limited, 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 robot aims using an onboard video camera. The VIPeR must first pass field tests before being used in action.