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The Dutch Armed Forces are procuring the SMASH Anti-Drone (AD) fire control system from Israeli company Smart Shooter after successful trials, the company has announced.

The SMASH fire control system has been developed for handguns of different calibres. The system uses a combination of electro-optical hardware, integrated image recognition software and a ballistic computer. According to the manufacturer, SMASH AD offers different target acquisition and tracking modes, optimised for targets such as UAVs. With integrated position stabilisation, the targeting device can be successfully used against both static and dynamic targets. In addition, the shooter is supported in target detection as well as tracking even with limited visibility. This is especially true for very small drones.

Back in October 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that the Dutch Armed Forces had conducted successful tests with the SMASH system, mounted on the Colt C7 assault rifle in 5.56 x 45 mm calibre, as a means of drone defence. Representatives of both the Army and the Dutch Air Force took part in the tests. Further tests followed in the Austrian high mountains in January 2021. The aim was to have individual gunners engage various small UAVs under conditions that were as realistic as possible. This two-day test was also extremely successful.