Smart Shooter, the Israel based high-tech arms manufacturer, has reported this week that the Dutch military has decided to purchase and make use of the company’ SMASH AD system “immediately”. The SMASH AD system, a Counter Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS), is part of a “wider family of Smart Shooter solutions, with some additional enhancements made for counter-drone capabilities.” The decision to buy Smart Shooter’ SMASH AD system comes after a series of successful tests conducted by the Dutch military since 2020. Moreover, the Dutch army has already previously placed orders with the Israeli company.

Smart Shooter primarily designs and manufactures next-generation rifle scopes that various features, such as target detection and a lock and track system. The company also is known for having devised the SMASH HOPPER, a weapons platform system on which an assault rifle can be mounted and controlled remotely.

The incorporation of Smart Shooter’s advanced rifle scopes with counter-drone capabilities into the arsenal of Dutch infantry soldiers is likely to be welcomed by military planners. In recent years, especially in the context of the War on Terror, the threat of drones to land forces has dramatically increased. Specifically, hybrid actors, such as the Islamic State in Iraq, had converted civilian/recreational drones into weapons by strapping grenades and other IEDs on them.

Little is known about the specifics of the deal between the Dutch military and Smart Shooter. Neither the recipient nor the supplier disclosed the value of the deal. Likewise, Smart Shooter generally does not disclose its other customer but says, “it does business in 15 countries.” The company hopes that the deal with the Dutch military will translate into an opportunity to equip other NATO and European countries with their modern weapon systems. Smart Shooter has already expanded its corporate presence beyond Israel with a “local office in Germany and a subsidiary in the United States.”

More generally, Smart Shooter is hopeful that its products can modernize contemporary land forces by bringing “the infantry to a new world: smart, precise and connected soldiers.” The company’s vice president of research and development, Sharone Aloni, foresees that the SMASH AD system, and other related products, will increase the “situational awareness” of individual soldiers and higher-level decision-makers alike.

Bibliography:

Frantzman, S. J. (2022, February 24). Dutch military buys Smart Shooter’s counter-drone system. Defense News. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2022/02/24/dutch-military-buys-smart-shooters-counter-drone-system/