Weaponised drones pose an increasingly clear and present threat to soldiers stationed at sensitive or vulnerable locations

Simply put, the SMASH-2000 Plus scope enables a soldier using an assault rifle to lock onto moving targets within his/her field of view and shoot them down with the first round

According to a statement released by the Israeli firm on Tuesday, the Indian Navy has extended a contract to Smartshooter for the supply of the SMASH Fire Control Systems

The theatre of modern warfare is constantly evolving with today's infantryman facing a whole host of new threats that never existed previously. Drones, for instance, have revolutionised the ways in which states carry out attacks, often offering inexpensive and highly effective solutions to undertake strikes without the need to risk personnel. 

But in the same way that nation-states can use drones, adversaries may also benefit. Weaponised drones pose an increasingly clear and present threat to soldiers stationed at sensitive or vulnerable locations. Identifying and taking out a fast-moving unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can prove a futile challenge even for the greatest of sharpshooters. 

In order to address this threat, weapons designers across the world have developed a whole slew of solutions ranging from the use of trained eagles to locate and latch on to drones in mid-air to radio jamming technology. 

How Does The Technology Work?

Yet the SMASH 2000 Plus system, developed by Israeli outfit Smartshooter, is one counter-drone solution that the Indian Navy has identified as having the greatest promise. 

Simply put, the SMASH 2000 Plus scope enables a soldier using an assault rifle to lock onto moving targets within his/her field of view and shoot them down with the first round. In doing so, it has effectively integrated tank fire control technology on to the common assault rifle. 

A rifleman can use the scope to first track the target before holding down the trigger of the assault rifle. However, the scope will only allow the weapon to fire at the precise moment that it determines that a shot will assuredly strike the target. Using sophisticated algorithms, the technology calculates the movement of a target and predicts where it is likely to be via advanced image processing. 

The Israeli manufacturer advertises the technology as putting “a precision anti-drone capability at the fingertips of its users,” even going so far as to claim that it can strike tiny drones moving at high speeds up to a range of 120 meters with the first shot. 

Key to the success of the technology has also been the weight factor. The light-weight scope technology is also, reportedly, easy to mount on the rail of a rifle without increasing the weight burden on a soldier. 

According to a statement released by the Israeli firm on Tuesday, the Indian Navy has extended a contract to Smartshooter for the supply of the SMASH Fire Control Systems. The control systems are expected to be installed primarily on the AK-47 and AK 203 rifles. 

As per some reports, the United States Army has also shown interested in the technology to integrate on to its M4A1 carbine rifles. The technology has also been in use by the Israeli Defence Forces for several months, specifically those located at the Gaza border where the threat of drones and incendiary balloons is said to be high.