A rifle equipped with the Smart Shooter Smash 2000 system. (Smart Shooter)
TEL AVIV: Already selected by the US Army, Israeli firm Smart Shooter is now hoping to get its SMASH 2000 automated targeting system into the hands of US Marines.
The SMASH 2000, which boasts the ability to give a “one shot, one kill” capability to small arms, is currently being tested by the Marine Corps Rapid Capabilities Office (MCRCO) for its potential use against small unmanned systems. According to company representatives, at least some of the testing will occur aboard ships to see how effective it can be at helping Marines shoot down moving targets.
“The Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) evaluates candidate technologies to fill capability gaps; one of which is small, hostile drones against our front-line Marines in the close-in fight,” said Marine spokesman William Hughes in response to an inquiry. “As a part of its market research work, the Marine Corps Rapid Capabilities Office (MCRCO) is evaluating the SMASH 2000L as a candidate solution identified for its current ability to target, track, and fire at the optimal point to eliminate small hostile drones.”
The SMASH can be integrated onto any of the small arms currently used by the US military. The system, at its most basic, uses algorithms to track the target, and does not allow a shot to be fired until there is an optimal firing option laid out. The company claims novice shooters have an 80 percent chance of hitting their target with one shot.
The threat of small UAS is a growing one for militaries around the world, with the Pentagon pursuing a number of different options for how to take down such systems, which can be used as both intel-gathering devices or suicide weapons. The power of the latter was on display over the last year, where small, commercially-available drones equipped with explosives were featured heavily in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as in the Iran-linked strikes against a commercial ship in July.
Smart Shooter had also been tested by US Special Operations Command, but was not adopted into its arsenal. However, in June 2020 the Army announced it was integrating the SMASH into its counter-UAS capability set.
It is also drawing interest from other nations. Last year, the Dutch Army completed a live-fire counter-drone trial with the system. The company claims that that demonstration as successful, with soldiers, using the system for the first time, table to take down drones out to 150 meters away
The system has been developed with the assistance of the Israeli ministry of defense and is in service with some special units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israeli sources said that the system has proved very effective in combat against terrorists in densely populated areas in the West Bank, particularly against drones.
