JERUSALEM — The follow-on contract awarded to Israeli firm Smart Shooter by the US Marine Corps earlier this month may not have had the biggest price tag at $3.4 million, but a company executive said it was only the latest evidence that US armed forces are eager for troop-level counter-drone solutions — so much so that most service branches now have a Smart Shooter contract.
Scott Thompson, Smart Shooter vice president and general manager for US operations, told Breaking Defense the necessity for dismounted c-UAS has been a “common denominator among all these awards we have received in the last six to eight months.”
Smart Shooter makes a rifle-mounted fire control system called Smash 2000LE that is designed to digitally identify targets and, in Thompson’s words, “will release the round when [the system] thinks it has the highest probability” of hitting the target. The goal is to make rifle fire far more accurate per round, an especially daunting challenge when soldiers are firing at small and fast-moving drones overhead.
The Marine Corps’ contract was signed June 9, following on a string of similar contracts from across the US military. On June 1 the company announced its first $1.8 million contract with the US Navy, with delivery expected later this year. On May 11, the company announced a follow-on $10.7 million order from the US Army.
Thompson noted that the various US service branches have different requirements for the system. The Marines may use it with their Marine Expeditionary Units, while the Navy is using it for protecting critical infrastructure.
In March the company said it had received its first order via the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF), an intra-service group dedicated to defense against drones. One of these orders is intended for the Air Force’s Global Strike Command, Thompson indicated.
“The Air Force has come on strong to top that all off, in the last five to six months, more from an airbase and critical infrastructure [protection standpoint],” Thompson said.
Thompson noted that having Smart Shooter’s systems available via JIATF 401 was similar to having it available at a kind of military-version of an online marketplace like Amazon. “They filter through capabilities and make decisions now that makes sense and then users across the military can go to the marketplace and pick out equipment.”
Because the JIATF is designed to synchronize efforts to counter drone threats and deliver capabilities to forces quickly, this is seen as an important milestone for the company. “The task force has a global focus and is a multifaceted organization leading DoW C-sUAS activities at the nexus of OSW, the Joint Staff, Combatant Command, and the services,” the Department of Defense notes. Protecting critical infrastructure is a key aspect of JIATF’s focus.
Smart Shooter’s technology has been in the hands of US troops in the field since at least early 2020 when it was spotted on rifles of US special forces deployed to Tanaf Garrison in southern Syria.
“Initially it was evaluated by what used to be called Counter Terrorism Technical Support Group, now called Irregular warfare Directorate IWTSD. They are procuring and evaluating for SOCOM. [They] initially, more than five years ago, evaluated the technology and were impressed and they bought some systems and sent it out to the different SOCOM commands and that began the use of our technology into the US market,” Thompson said.
Now the system is in the hands of the “big army,” he says, noting its acquisition across US services.
“The next step is to provide this capability at a much greater scale; the market is extremely large. We also have interest from the Army Reserves,” he said. “We are in a great place from a market penetration standpoint.”
The rise in interest comes as the drone threat is continually changing. The increased use of fiber optic drones in Ukraine and in Lebanon, for instance, means that jamming and electronic effects don’t work as effectively in the field. This is driving increasing demand for a kinetic solution, Thompson said.
He said that the company is also discussing using the system on other platforms, outside of the assault rifle market. “We are looking at remote weapons stations. We are a fire control company. Our goal is to provide precision to all platforms. Not just handheld M-4s.” Smart Shooter makes a remote weapon station called Smash Hopper which could also be placed on vehicles. He said the company is demonstrating it to another Department of Defense office this month.
The Smash system for rifles is also changing, as Thompson said it’s lighter than it used to be and has been continously incorporating user feedback. “We go out and train and we’ve been training and we get positive feedback. Sometimes they want the cable length to be longer and small things and we can accommodate that pretty easy,” he said.
Beyond the US, Smart Shooter has seen orders in Israel and abroad in the last year. On May 20 the company announced it had “signed an agreement with the Israeli Ministry of Defense to supply SMASH Hopper lightweight remote-controlled weapon stations, including spare parts and related services.” This was worth around $2.2 million.
In December 2025 it said it had received a contract for the Australian Defence Force project LAND 156 LOE 2 to evaluate the SMASH 3000 Fire Control System.
The company also showcased its systems at Eurosatory in France earlier this month, though a dispute with France meant panels were placed to hide the Israeli defense companies at the show. Smart Shooter still said that “there was a lot of interest, despite of them blocking the booth, and the company’s team was there for meaningful meetings and discussion.”
