U.S. Army deploys cutting-edge $13M smart rifle scopes that automatically shoot down enemy drones in combat

The U.S. Army is giving its soldiers a high-tech edge in the fight against drones, and it’s called SMASH.

During a live-fire training exercise on June 6 in Germany, a soldier with the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment used the SMASH 2000L smart scope mounted on an M4A1 rifle to target drones in the sky. 

The demo was part of Project Flytrap, a multinational training event.

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The SMASH 2000L, made by Israeli company Smart Shooter Ltd., is no ordinary sight. It uses cameras, sensors, and artificial intelligence to track targets and decides the perfect time to fire, according to reporting from Army Recognition. 

Once a drone is locked in, the system controls the trigger and only fires when a hit is guaranteed.

In May, the Army awarded Smart Shooter a $13 million contract to begin delivering these scopes to troops under its Transformation In Contact (TIC 2.0) program. The goal is to quickly get new, useful tech into soldiers’ hands.

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The smart scope weighs about 2.5 pounds and fits onto standard-issue rifles. It has already been used by NATO partners and tested in combat zones.

In the ongoing Ukraine war, both sides use less expensive drones to drop explosives or spy on troops. In Israel, terrorists have flown quadcopters into military positions. These small drones are fast, quiet, and deadly.

Until now, stopping drones often meant using big, complex systems but SMASH changes that. With SMASH, a single soldier can knock a drone out of the sky without needing backup.

The Army did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.