Weapons and Kit

New intelligent sighting system lets British forces SMASH aerial drones with a rifle

Watch: Anti-drone sight poised to give British troops the edge

The British military has a new piece of kit that vastly increases the chances of shooting down a drone with a rifle.

Around 500 SMASH X4 sighting systems are being used across the three services by close combat troops.

The device was developed by Israeli firm Smart Shooter, and was shown off to Forces News fitted to a 5.56mm L85 assault rifle by Squadron Leader Hugo Morris, a Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems specialist from the RAF Regiment.

The british army will soon have the SMASH sights delivered to them to help deal with UAV threats CREDIT BRITISH ARMY — The Smart Shooter SMASH is designed to work with 5.56mm weapons like the SA80 L85 A3 (Picture: British Army)

He explained how the SMASH X4 had been chosen to equip the tri-service dismounted close combat community.

The SMASH X4 works by blocking the trigger until the optic has calculated a proper firing solution to engage an airborne target - meaning no ammunition is wasted.

Once the optic has displayed a "Kill Box" around the target, triggered by movement such as the turning rotors of a quadcopter or the oscillation of a fixed-wing drone, it unlocks the trigger and allows the weapon to be fired.

Smash X4 rifle CREDIT SMART SHOOTER — Develoer Smart Shooter shows off the X4 fitted to an AR-15-style rifle (Picture: Smart Shooter)

Sqn Ldr Morris said the device gives a high probability of a first-round hit of up to 80% in the hands of a trained user.

In contrast, he said the probability of a first-round hit on an airborne target with a conventional sight was zero.

The SMASH sighting system is being rolled out to dismounted close combat operators across the Navy, Army and RAF, based on operational and readiness commitments.