For many of us, the first time the public started hearing about drones on a regular basis was in 2002 when the US military used the Predator drone in attacks against Osama bin Laden.  With the successes the US military found using the Predator, drones and the military became common news.  Since then, the use of drones has exploded throughout the world for military and civilian purposes.  No longer are drones massive, multi-million dollar tools.  They can now be found almost anywhere from toy and hobby stores, to big box stores like Walmart and Target. Even some grocery stores carry drones now.  Not to mention the countless online retailers selling them.  You can buy small toy drones that fit in the palm of your hand to commercial drones at a wide price range.  Basically anyone can buy a drone today.

It is because of the wide availability of drones that military organizations are now having to find ways to stay ahead of those using drones for ill intentions.  This is an issue that has become increasingly difficult in the already complicated Middle East.  Weaponized toy drones have become the go to weapon for many non-state hostile people in the Middle East.  These drones are easy to access, inexpensive, and can often avoid air defense systems.  Terrorists have been using them in attacks on crowded cities like Gaza.  Now an Israeli company made up of former IDF soldiers and technology industry leaders have found a way to combat these hostile drones.

Smart Shooter was founded in northern Israel in 2011 by Abraham Mazor, Avshalom Ehrlich, and Michal Mor.  The description on their website states that, “Smart Shooter was established to develop innovative technologies that help military and law enforcement professionals swiftly and accurately neutralize their targets.”  The technology that Smart Shooter has created to do just that is called the SMASH 2000.  The SMASH 2000 is a device that sits atop of a machine gun allowing the operator to effectively shoot at a moving object, even one as fast and hard to hit as a drone.  As Abraham Mazor said, “Since drones have become a very serious threat all over the world, we began to think of how we could use the system against drones.  If you are capable of hitting moving targets, we don’t care if the target is on the ground, such as terrorists in the terminal, terrorists on the battlefield, or a drone in the sky.  We have to adapt the algorithm and a few other things, but basically we are facing the same challenge – how to hit moving targets.”

The SMASH 2000 is a targeting system that uses a predictive algorithm software to lock onto any moving target.  Once it has locked onto the target, it predicts it’s movement and waits to fire until the target is precisely in the gun’s cross hairs.  This ensures an exact hit regardless of the location of the target or time of day.  According to Smart Shooter’s website, “Our operationally proven SMASH family of fire control systems is designed, developed and manufactured in-house to keep friendly forces safe and ensure every first round hits its target, day or night.  We combine simple-to-install hardware with our own advanced image-processing software to cost effectively turn basic small arms into 21st century smart weapons.”

The beauty of the SMASH 2000 is that first of all it is an effective means for military and police organizations to use in terms of cost and time sensitivity.  The other options for dealing with situations that the SMASH 2000 could be used for involve getting a helicopter or air launching a missile.  Both of these methods can often be too little to late and cost the government millions of dollars.  The SMASH 2000 is cheap enough that every single soldier or police officer can have one at their disposal.  It is also a device that is easy to use with minimal training.  An important factor in a military like the IDF that relies heavily on reserve soldiers. 

But as Mr. Mazor points out, “The threat of drones is a multilayered threat.  There is not only one kind of done that we have to defeat; there are many kinds, in terms of height, weight, velocity…There is no one solution for the threat posed by drones,” but as he goes on to say, “among all the means that exist, we can eliminate drones in one shot. Any and every soldier with the SMASH 2000 can defeat the threat.  It’s as simple as that.”  So, whether it is toy grade drones or other airborne incendiary devices posing a threat to civilians and friendly forces, a device like the SMASH 2000 is a welcome beacon.

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