DAMASCUS, (BM) – US ground forces at the Syrian base at Tanf have tested the latest SMASH 2000 sight for downing drones, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing several US sources.
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Similar sights were previously used only by the Israel Defense Forces. US SMASH 2000 was tested in Syria for the first time. “US Special Forces bought this system for use in real-life combat situations,” said Dr. Abraham Mazor, one of the founders of Smart Shooter Ltd.
In the past, Mazor worked for Rafael [an arms manufacturer, one of the four largest Israeli arms and military exporters], including many years of work in the Spike ATGM team.
Abraham Mazor declined to say what kind of military operations this technology is being considered in the U.S. Army, but handouts issued by the United States Army underscores the usefulness of sights as a means of fighting unmanned aerial vehicles, writes Daily Mail.
According to him, this product is 100% manufactured by Smart Shooter Ltd. “Our company is in direct contact with the US Special Operations Command [SOCOM], working with US special forces and the IDF”.
Before moving on to testing the scope in Syria, the U.S. Army first bought 98 SMASH 2000 from Smart Shooter Ltd. and in August 2019 conducted their preliminary tests at Beale Air Base near Yuba, California.
The manufacturer of the sights – the Israeli company Smart Shooter Ltd. – Offers a whole line of SMASH sights, which are actually fire control systems [LMS]. Developed in close collaboration with the Israeli army,
The SMASH system allows the shooter to open fire only when the system evaluates the hit on the target as highly probable. Moreover, it takes into account all possible external conditions.
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In other words, the shooter first takes aim and fixes [marks] the selected target by pressing the red button on the weapon handle. After that, presses and holds the trigger. A shot is fired only at the moment when the sight “is convinced” of the perfect aiming of the weapon at the target.
However, when a soldier is ready to fire, the system determines whether his target is true, and if the target is “disabled”, SMASH 2000 will not allow to shoot, even if you press the trigger.
“The new sight automates the guidance process and increases the probability of hitting the target from the first shot four times. For this, the principles of display recognition and auto tracking algorithms that were previously used in homing missiles and fire control systems of military equipment are used,” Konstantin Makienko, deputy director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, explained to Gazeta.ru.
The built-in sight computer stores the necessary data from various types of small arms. According to the manufacturer, the system allows you to increase the probability of hitting from the first shot from 100 m to 80%, which practically equalizes inexperienced and experienced soldiers.
As the source of “Gazeta.Ru” said, since the first appearance of such a sight, the system has been constantly evolving and now Smart Shooter Ltd. offers two scope options: SMASH 2000 and SMASH 2000 Plus. The second model is equipped with a mode to combat unmanned aerial vehicles. It allows shelling air targets in the daytime at heights of up to 200 m. Typical distances of firing at fixed and moving targets in the daytime are 300 m.
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While the daytime display is available on the transparent screen of the mirror sight, in night mode it is displayed on video displays for low light. The system consists of an aiming unit and a fire blocking mechanism, which is built into the pistol grip with a safety bracket, which replaces the original handle on a particular weapon.
The scope is compact, measures 195×87.5×81 mm, weighs 980 g, and is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack, guaranteeing 72 hours of operation or up to 3600 shots when the SMASH system is operating. The sight is equipped with a near infrared illuminator and a built-in video recording function.
SMASH sights combine the technology of electro-optics, night vision, image processing, ergonomics and embedded software that works in real time.
The sight is mounted on a standard Picatinny rail – a rail mount system used on various types of small arms to ensure unification of mounts on the sights.
According to the Daily Mail, during field trials at the US Army base at Mount Tanf in Syria, near the country’s southeast border with Jordan and Iraq, American soldiers used SMASH 2000+ to aim at small boxes mounted on UAVs flying around positions at El Tanf. And this is not surprising.
The SMASH 2000 comes with the integrated Drone Mode, which helps you track small, fast-moving air targets up to 400 feet away. The SMASH 2000 fire control system uses innovative technology to help the military 100% neutralize moving targets.
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The base of Et-Tanf, the newspaper reports, was created in 2016 and was used mainly for training local Syrian groups in the fight against the militants of the Islamic State.
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