SmartShooter SMASH weapon sight is hoped to increase the ability of the British Army’s counter-drone operations.
The British Army’s close combat soldiers are poised to gain a strategic edge in countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with the deployment of the revolutionary SmartShooter SMASH Smart Weapon Sight Fire Control System.
Engineered to increase the hit probability against micro and mini UAVs, the system boasts the ability to track and lock onto targets, maintaining this lock even with target or user motion. The SmartShooter SMASH system will first be incorporated with the SA80 A3 assault rifle and can also be integrated with other in-service individual weapons.
The initial delivery includes 225 SMASH sights, fulfilling a £4.6 million MOD contract. This first wave of sight units will be dispatched to Very High Readiness units throughout the British Army by the year’s end. Subsequent deliveries will extend the advanced capability to close combat operators across the Army, Navy, and RAF. The agreement with Viking Arms Ltd, based in Yorkshire, enables this phased rollout over the coming years, centred on operational and readiness requirements.
Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge, emphasised the necessity of this modern capability in the battlefield landscape. “The importance of uncrewed aerial vehicles on the modern battlefield is undeniable. Alongside procuring, developing and deploying this technology in a range of different ways, we must also be proactive in ensuring our Armed Forces can protect against their use by adversaries,” said Cartlidge.
A cheap effective way to shoot down drones is a must. Low tec cheap drones like the Iranian drones Russia use should be easy to shoot down but the high end stuff a different matter but fortunately very few have high tec drones .
Not sure 20k a pop is a cheap solution (£2.4m/225).
This isn’t a smart bullet etc, it is still going to rely on the soldier is line up the fast moving target and hit it. Wonder how much more effective the average soldier is using these Vs a traditional iron fight or normal optics.
It’s a very cheap ssolution the 2.4 million to buy the kit the ammo the huge saving it’s not cost effective to shoot down 1 & 2 & 10 k drones with highly expensive rockets or missiles.
Considering they are only buying 225 it would seem the army disagrees. Seems an odd number but it would seem not designed for regular usage in a war zone.
I guess it depends what the issue rate is to deployed infantry, RM Cdos, Paras, Rangers. One per platoon? One per section? With some in reserve and training pool even a few hundred will go some way.
Would need to be every active unit. Drones are relatively cheap
Did I misread I thought I read it would initially be rolled out to high readiness units and then phased in throughout the forces. Don’t know if that means purely exploiting this order or whether additional orders will may be expected if all runs smoothly. Either way I presume they will want to test it in real world scenarios before mass exploitation.
Steve wrote: “”Considering they are only buying 225 it would seem the army disagrees. Seems an odd number but it would seem not designed for regular usage in a war zone.”” From the above link: “An initial order of 225 SMASH sights will be delivered under a £4.6million MOD contract to Very High Readiness units across the British Army by the end of this year. The contract with Yorkshire-based Viking Arms Ltd will allow further sights to be delivered over the next few years to dismounted close combat operators across the Army, Navy and RAF, based on operational and readiness… Read more »
If the scale of issue is one per rifle section, the order is enough to equip 8 battalions ie about a Division, with 9 left over for the training org.
The odd thing is if only one per section, wouldn’t it make more sense to install on the sharpshooter rifle for the extra range.
Unless the idea is to unload a magazine on auto on them, but then the sight probably becomes pointless.
I guess a DJI drone swarm needs many firings that a sharpshooter rifle is not the more adequate
I wouldn’t want to give up my main firepower in the section dedicated just to countering drones. also, SS doesn’t add that much range, the standard SA80 is actually easy on man-sized targets at 400m. SS adds stopping power at range.
The integration of x6 ACOG onto SS is really potent in DCC.
It would be interesting to see what this sight enables for normal operations. Logically it must be able to be used against all targets – not just drones.
Guess we will see whenever the next counter insurgency deployment is. Drones that this will be designed for will be much smaller than man sized I suspect, more likely football sized, anything much bigger and it’s going to have it’s own payload that will fire from way outside sa80 range.
I would imagine this type of tech would easily be defeatable, as it wouldnt take much effort to add a random direction jiggle into the drone for when it gets close, to defeat the predictive flight path calculations.
Why do I worry that all this is far too slow
Hello Steve. I imagine – do not know obviously – part of the contract price is the company recovering research and development costs. That would be fair since this is never going to be a large scale production run for now.
I would assume though that the MOD would approve the final design /cost before following up with the cash. Normally you have a research /concept contract and then another for production.
Yes. Good point.
Viking Arms is just the distributor. The sights are designed and made by Sharpshooter, an Israeli company
Yeah Sharpshooter has various rifle/MG fire control products and this one already exists for a couple years albeit being improved.
Thanks Peter for that background.
The soldier just have to align the rifle to the virtual aiming point. If the trigger is depressed the fire control fires it.
Since the system optically tracks the target it can predict its future position giving an effective aiming point in the sight to the soldier.
It totally depends on the skill and experience of the shooter. For example, most people can within a day get most of their aimed rounds onto a figure 11 target at 300m. Tightening up the grouping takes a lot more time, Then getting consistency takes longer still. However, most civilian shooters and a lot of military only shoot static targets. Unless you a game or clay pigeon shooter or in the infantry or attached to them. For most people, things get a lot trickier when the target moves. Even an inexperienced infantryman will struggle to hit a moving target at… Read more »
It is not 20k a pop. It is 20k for the system and then the cost to shoot each drone down is just the cost of a few bullets rather than the cost of very expensive missiles! Starstreak costs £100k per missile and that is on top of the control system!
There are guided bullets now that can use targeting data to adjust thier flight path somewhat….
There’s a lack of detail in the article. Not wise to assume the unit price. Would be agast if it was that dear. I’m sure there’s some garage in Ukraine ghats making something as good at a tenth the price. One thing for you’re is we can’t afford the cist of these weapons systems if we’re to have large stockpiles fir any future conflict. At meant we’ve had a warning now
PT … also could be any target, troops for instance, this makes any one a sharpshooter. This is sort of black cabs meet sat nav moment.
IRL aimbot.
Interesting kit, love to know how it works.
I assume it’s A3 specific because it’s got the full length picatinny rail and it’s a fairly long scope….
Hi John,
I would love to know how this works and assists the soldier aiming the weapon too.
FYI…article says….
‘can also be integrated with other in-service individual weapons’.
The best it can do is put a dot or similar on the drone and another dot where it calculates where it will be if you hit the trigger and maybe light up when that point is centered. It can’t help the soldier actually aim as the bullets aren’t smart / guided in any way. How effective it is without a 3d radar is anyone’s guess, as it can only be guessing distance and direction based on optics.
Maybe new helmets can have a wee rotating radar on top😂😂😂😂
And some “mini Camm”, 2*2 either side… Lol 😁
Perhaps we will see helmets like Rogue Trooper’s Helm? That not only includes situational awareness sensors but also an AI.
I wonder if the sort of sensors being developed for driverless cars might come into their own here eventually, I guess it will depend on how accurate they will be when scaled up in the required distance range finding for this sort of platform and to what extent it can be miniaturised.
The company PDF on the sight:
Don’t know exactly how it works but you hold the trigger and the shot is released when you are on target.
This is basically an optical fire control system. It can tracks a drone and show the future position to the soldier.when the fire control thinks it gets an hit if fire the rifle automatically if the soldier have the trigger depressed.
So there is not the delay of soldier processing the image and depressing the trigger, he just need to aim the gun to a virtual position in sky.
How it works:
For some targets it detects by optical image recognition.
It can recognize humans, drones, probably also vehicles.
Then it tracks them continuously. Then if you have your trigger depressed when the computer thinks the rifle is aligned to the targets and will get a hit it fires automatically.
Another advantage is that the soldier do not need to close one eye.
Sounds like he could close both.
How does the Rifle fire automatically, the fire control group is a mechanical device, the hammer is held on the sear, once the trigger is depressed the the trigger bar moves forward releasing the sear allowing the hammer to fall to strike the firing pin, so unless some other devise is installed within the fire control group, to hold the hammer down, once you depress the trigger the weapon will fire?
In the PDF posted by Farouk there is this part:
No idea as to what a Fire Block mechanism is or even how it would work, without a modification to the fire control group, would be interested if any commemorators on this site could explain it to me, as after working on small arms for the last 40 plus years i have no idea how this would work,
Indeed I’m assuming the sight will give a positive indication when it’s on target with a tone or say a green light
Seems a long time ago now deluded Russian cowardly weak midget phoned Boris up . I can always fire a missile at you Boris but I don’t want to hurt you . Russia can’t do that but UK if it wished could put one right on the cowardly murdering midgets head .
It may be something similar to this https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/17000-linux-powered-rifle-brings-auto-aim-to-the-real-world/ which has been available in civvy street for some time.
Like to see the Russian fleet in the black sea area destroyed and sunk in one big Ukraine air force attack using storm Shadow .harpoon . Neptune. NSM. . Job lot on the bottom
Can’t help but imagine that the ability to do that is being avidly worked on. Question marks over the developmental stage of the ballistic missile they were working on pre war has reached, they have claimed in war conditions it would be tough to finalise it but the Ukranians tend to under play capabilities till they get to use them. And then there is the thousand mile drone they spoke of a good while back. If they were able to hit a sub I wonder how that would go down.
Including their subs too. Hope Ukrainism forces can push through to the Asov and retake Mariupol. Can’t imagine what it’s going to look like when they eventually get there. What an awful mess. Russia sure has a lot to answer for
More info on how it works here
Link
Be even better if he had a magazine fitted.
Well observed.
That’s because space has been reserved for a Magazine but that is a future upgrade, so at present it is “Fitted For But Not With”.
But it is still a World Leading, 1st class Close Quarters Weapon as it can be fitted with a bayonet.
Unfortunately that has been removed due to H&S concerns.
How long have you been involved with UK MOD speak ? 😂
You left out ‘cutting edge’…..
Fuck me 😂😂😂😂
scary tech, just get a lock on a target keep trigger depressed until computer decides to fire the kill shot. all grunts will be sharpshooters now
Yes one of those would work wonders on a1.5″ bore Holland and Holland. Throws out massive wall of BB.
OK, this sight has been around for at least the last 5 years. I was at a demo at Fort Bragg a few years ago, where they were being demonstrated on various weapon systems from M4s, M16A3s, M240, M249 and even a M2. The sight then had two main parts. The main optical sight and a back up reflex red dot mounted on top. The main sight though was digital, which incorporated a ballistic computer, that would alter the point of aim based on the target’s range and local atmospherics. Perhaps more significantly, it automatically works out the lead to… Read more »
Battery: PDF posted by Farouk says 72 hours or 3600 smash assisted shots.
Small hobby drones operate on domestic wifi bands so should be easy to jam. Yon can buy off the shelf wifi service denial hardware, just need to amplify the signal if you want decent range. However blocking the 2.4 or 5ghz signal will just mean a drone like the DJI will return to home, so its not a ‘kill’ solution. GPS jamming is a better solution as if no GPS is detected the drone won’t move, it with just hoover then when the battery get to 10% land where it is. The racing drones used to chase down tanks and… Read more »
Good post. Thanks for the detailed and up-to-date info on drone warfare
Cheers mate, I guess these would be no different to the mobile phone jammers we used in Iraq and Afghan. It still remains that if you are transmitting a jamming signal, you could be triangulated and then targeted. There may be a case for a passive system, that is used to initially detect the “wifi” frequencies transmitted by the drone, then activates a jammer as it gets close, to form a protective bubble around your team. Whilst at the same time giving a warning to the operator. However, it has to be portable and be able to carried in a… Read more »
Yeah, the jammers are same as the GSM jammers. You can buy off the shelf examples that can run across frequency ranges. Cheaper ones cover one Band. For vehicles its a must as a cheap protection against kamikaze drones , even dropping the power to 40w would mean the drone operator loose control at 50m. This would make it hard to detect and triangulate. For Ukraine, we probably know all the frequencies the Russians operate drones so for vehicle just fit 4, 5, 6 low power jammers one for each frequency, simple and cheap. That buys time for develop a… Read more »
If we are talking vehicles, a good example would be to look at pictures of the Scimitar 1/2 used in Afghan, with the aft turret plinth fitted. It had a plethora of different antennas, including a number of jammers. I am hoping that the Chally 2s we gave to the Ukrainans, have got have the jammers fitted? I like the idea of the lightweight “sacrificial” decoys/jammers. You could use them to blanket an area for creating a protective bubble. Or use them as a deliberate distraction, to entice the enemy to fire upon them. I’m pretty sure with the number… Read more »
Interesting thought. There’s basically 2 types of threat, the adapted commercial drone which emit RF. These I think can be countered as we have discussed. But autonomous systems are a different problem. As you point out these do not need to receive or transmit so are very hard to track. This will only get worse, its likely commercial versions will become available with AI for tasks like surveying, search and rescue which will be able to be adapted to military uses. If I can program a drone to find a person or cap sized boat I can tell it to… Read more »
Agreed, it does seem that drone development is repeating early aircraft development. First we had drones for surveillance, next were scouts, then “bomber”. So I guess it’s only logical that a fighter type drone, is the next iteration. I know there have been quite a few trials done with drones being used to take out other drones. Especially those that trespass over airfields/airports. But the majority of these were firing a net, trying to capture the drone. Which is ok, but does mean in a conflict type of scenario, someone will have to go and locate the captured drone and… Read more »
I did ponder suggesting a shotgun solution, plenty of irate property owners in the US have use shot guns effectively to take out quad copters. The suicide copter would need less refinement so lower initial cost. But ultimately drone wars will come down to who can produce more, so if targeting can be perfected then shot gun solution would work on multi rotors in particular. There’s essentially 2 categories of fixed wing and multi rotor. The larger fixed wing with ICE power are easier to detect. But as I’ve said in the next few years if solid state batteries fulfill… Read more »
Wouldn’t this better suit an LMG or GPMG with a simple pole support?
Since the fire control is software based it can be accomplished to other weapons.
The LMG in both 5.56 & 7.62 mm is no longer in service.
What about drone detection tho? To shoot at a target you need to be able to ‘ see’ it. Drones ( tiddlers anyway) thought were hard to spot??
Would this sight be good on a .50 HMG….
Is the SA80 A3 weapon supposed to be a decent reliable weapon now? Have only read about all the problems the earlier editions used to have but a few dispatches said it had remarkably improved hopefully.
It’s good enough for your average infantry soldier!!!
And they all wear size 9 boots! Yeah I get it 😉
But good to know it’s getting better with it’s upgrades. It looks good to the eye with it’s make over.
This is quite interesting actually, it controls the firing of the rifle!
https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/06/game-changing-anti-drone-weapon-sight-for-army-s-close-combat-soldiers/
Its for use with small infantry squad based quad copters type drones.
“SMASH uses image processing to automatically acquire a target from the sight’s field-of-view, and then displays a box around the target in the shooter’s reflex sight.
The capability will only fire when the sight is aligned to hit the target.”
reminds me of the F35’s gun actually, pretty impressive!
I hate to be a bit nitpicky, but wouldn’t these be better fitted to a larger calibre weapon- like a GPMG or .50cal? That seems to be the type of weapon that the Ukrainians are using for shooting down Russian drones.
I’ve got no problem in principle with having them on SA80s, and I’m sure not a terrible solution, but I can’t help but feel that a 5.56 mm round isn’t going to have a great deal of stability when fired up into the air. You don’t have to get very high for increased wind speed, air turbulence, etc.
Perfect for cheating at clay pigeon shooting