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British Army close combat soldiers are set to receive a cutting-edge weapon sight designed to give them a tactical advantage when countering Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
The SmartShooter SMASH Smart Weapon Sight Fire Control System is designed to give dismounted soldiers the ability to achieve a high probability of hit against micro and mini UAVs. The capability can recognize a target, track its movements, and maintain a lock on the target even if it or the user moves.
This Counter-Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS) capability will initially be fitted to the SA80 A3 assault rifle and can also be fitted onto other in-service individual weapons.
An initial order of 225 SMASH sights will be delivered under a £4.6 million UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) contract to Very High Readiness units across the British Army by the end of 2023.
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 Royal Air Force, based on operational and readiness commitments.
James Cartlidge, Minister for Defense Procurement, said: “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. Adding this capability to our core equipment program is another example of us procuring the right kit, at the right time for our personnel.”
The SMASH sights were tested by the Army’s experimentation battalion, 2 YORKS, in 2022.
Wing Commander Mark Bowden, Programs Directorate, Counter-UAS SO1, said: “We are very pleased to announce the arrival of the first dismounted C-sUAS equipment into the core equipment program. SMASH is a proven capability already in service with our allies and partners. As we have seen in Ukraine and other operational areas the UAS threat is growing significantly. SMASH offers significant enhancement to the close combat operator across all three Services, delivering a tactical edge to the dismounted soldier in the C-sUAS battle.”
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.
Sam MacArthur, Viking Arms Managing Director, said: “We are tremendously proud to have been selected to supply the UK MoD’s C-sUAS Smart Weapon Sight capability. The need for C-sUAS capability is very evident and we feel the SMASH solution is truly game changing. We are honored to be supporting our British Armed Forces with technology that will provide significant battlefield advantages, whilst the contract builds on our continued success as a trusted supplier within the UK Defense Sector.”
The roll-out of SMASH sights is the first of the equipment capability deliveries from the Army Land Ground Based Air Defense Program Project 6, delivering C-sUAS capability to the dismounted and mounted soldier.
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