Benelli shotgun gets Israeli computerized anti-drone sight

Israeli company SMARTSHOOTER has fitted its SMASH computerized fire control sight to a Benelli shotgun, taking a system best known for helping soldiers shoot down small drones with rifles and putting it on a weapon that fires spreads of pellets at close range.

The company announced the integration this week, saying it shows the flexibility of the SMASH design across different weapons and operational requirements, but it did not say which Benelli model was used, whether the pairing has been tested against drones or other targets, or whether any military or police customer requested it.

SMASH sights work differently from a normal optic, because the shooter marks a target and the onboard software tracks it, calculates a firing solution and releases the shot only when it judges that the chance of a hit meets its programmed threshold, which is meant to help troops hit small, fast-moving drones that are hard to engage with iron sights or a standard scope.

U.S. forces already train with the rifle version, and in February 2026 U.S. soldiers, airmen and Marines, along with Belgian troops, qualified with the SMASH 2000 at Grafenwoehr in Germany during the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Multi-Domain Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operator Course.

SMARTSHOOTER has steadily moved the technology onto heavier and larger weapons, and during the UK-U.S. Project VANAHEIM/FLYTRAP trials in 2025 it mounted the SMASH 3000 on a heavy machine gun for the first time, with the systems reportedly intercepting drones at ranges of up to 400 meters (1,312 feet), while its SMASH Hopper remotely controlled weapon station was fitted to a reconnaissance vehicle.

Benelli Armi, the Italian shotgun maker based in Urbino, builds semi-automatic shotguns used by military and law enforcement units around the world, including the M4 model adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps as the M1014, although SMARTSHOOTER did not identify the Benelli shotgun shown in its announcement.