What are SMARTSHOOTER fire control systems designed for?

The growing threat posed by sUAS and FPV drones

The abstract and concrete threat posed by drones has become a global reality. Military forces as well as law enforcement agencies — including federal and state police units — are increasingly confronted with this persistent threat. According to reports from various operational deployments, German Bundeswehr camps in Afghanistan and Mali, for example, were almost daily overflown by Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS).

These flights are primarily assumed to serve reconnaissance purposes. However, it cannot be ruled out that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) may also carry payloads capable of conducting targeted attacks.

With the increasing proliferation of sUAS, Counter-sUAS (C-sUAS) capabilities and technologies are becoming increasingly important. This applies not only to overseas military operations, but also to the protection of domestic critical infrastructure and sensitive facilities.

Challenges of modern drone threats

The challenges posed by modern sUAS systems are diverse. Most drones are commercially available civilian products that can be easily obtained worldwide at low cost. Due to their small size and frequent use of plastic materials, they possess only a minimal signature, making them difficult to detect and track.

In addition, these systems combine high speeds with considerable agility as well as advanced flight control and navigation systems. Commercially available yet highly capable platforms offer extended flight times and high-definition camera technology — while remaining easily accessible to virtually anyone.

In particular, the growing proliferation of FPV and fiber-optic controlled drones presents military forces and security agencies worldwide with new operational challenges.

SMARTSHOOTER fire control systems

To address these new and rapidly evolving threats, SMARTSHOOTER specializes in the development of advanced fire control systems for small arms.

These systems significantly increase weapon accuracy and hit probability against static and moving targets on the ground and in the air — both day and night.

SMASH 3000

The SMASH 3000 is SMARTSHOOTER’s latest and most advanced fire control system. All operational and technical insights from previous generations have been integrated into the system, resulting in improved performance while significantly reducing weight and size.

SMARTSHOOTER’s proprietary target acquisition and tracking algorithms are combined with advanced image-processing software in a robust hardware solution. The result is a user-friendly yet highly capable system designed for the effective engagement of modern threats.

Operational Insight

Publicly documented combat experiences from Lebanon demonstrate the successful deployment of SMASH fire control systems against FPV drones under real operational conditions. The analyzed engagements particularly highlight the growing importance of kinetic C-UAS capabilities against modern threats such as highly agile and fiber-optic controlled FPV drones.

→  Full operational analysis >