The Indian Navy has signed a deal with an Israeli firm Smart Shooter for the procurement of an unspecified number of fire control systems to counter the growing threat of drone attacks. The system also has the ability to improve a soldier's accuracy and speed of hitting targets. As per a report in the Print, this is an initial order put forward by the Navy, while the Army and Border Security Forces (BSF) are separately negotiating their deals with the same Israeli firm.
As per an official statement released by Smart Shooter, the Indian Navy has handed over the contract to the company to supply its SMASH Fire Control Systems. The contract includes the supply of SMASH 2000 Plus fire control systems from Smart Shooter, which will be mounted primarily on AK-47 and AK 203 rifles. SMASH is a kind of device for electro-optic vision.
Michal Mor, the company's CEO said, "SMASH 2000 Plus provides an inimitable hard-kill solution against the growing threats of drones, and delivers proven ability to hit any ground or airborne targets and eliminate the threat quickly and effectively." She further added, "We will be happy to keep offering the Indian Military diverse cutting-edge solutions for protection against the ground and aerial threats at land, air, and sea."
Upgrade to counter the close range drone threat
It is to be noted that last week in an annual press conference, Naval Chief Admiral Karambir Singh had informed that the force is in process of buying SMASH-2000s as anti-drone equipment to protect against attacking drones.
The manufacturer of these systems has claimed that the SMASH 2000 Plus features built-in targeting algorithms that have the ability to track and destroy even small drones at high speed and up to 120 meters in range with the first shot. It claimed that SMASH 2000 Plus completely meets the Indian requirements and will drastically boost the precision and pace of a soldier to reach targets and takedown threats, thereby, dramatically optimizing operational performance.
Features of SMASH 2000 Plus
- Multiple operational modes:
- See-through reflex sight (red-dot) for rapid fire
- Day mode re control assisted shots using see-
- through projected markers
- Night mode re control assisted shots using low light
- video display
- Drone Kill mode - lock, track and eliminate drones
- Integrated re control computer
- User selection of ballistics data for different rifles and/or
- ammunition types
- Upgradable ballistics formats
- External add-on to in-service weapons.
- Currently supported weapons and ammunitions (user selectable):
- M4 weapon (5.56mm) - M193 / M855
- Rechargeable battery - 72 hours or up to 3,600 SMASHassisted shots
- NIR flashlight (optional activation)
The system includes the entire feature set with an additional advanced Counter-UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) mode that provides precise Hard Kill capability to counter the emerging threat of drones. The electro-optic (EO) sight system, which was introduced in the market last year, offers a rapid day/night threat detection capability to target small, fast-moving airborne challenges such as explosive balloons and kites. This was subsequently upgraded to target small flying drones in near rifle ranges.
