Pentagon buys Israeli smart rifle sights to shoot down drones

The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force has awarded Israeli company Smart Shooter a contract worth up to $150 million for its SMASH rifle sights, which help soldiers shoot down small drones with their regular service weapons.

The U.S. Department of War’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401, known as JIATF-401, announced the three-year award on Sept. 29, and Smart Shooter said the next day that it is the only supplier under the deal. The contract is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity agreement, which sets a ceiling and lets the government place individual orders over time. The quantity, pricing and timing of deliveries will be decided in those orders, and neither the company nor the task force said how many systems the first order will cover.

The contract covers SMASH hardware, software and updates, training and support. It supports JIATF-401’s Domestic Shield Program and related missions overseas, focused on protecting troops, bases and other key sites in the United States and abroad from drones.

SMASH is a fire control system that mounts on a rifle like a scope. It uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to lock onto a target, calculate where to aim and release the shot only when the weapon is lined up to hit. That lets an ordinary soldier hit a small, fast-moving drone that would be very hard to shoot down with iron sights or a standard optic. The rifle can still be used normally against ground targets, and the soldier decides whether to fire. The system can also link to outside sensors and battle management networks.

“Domestic Shield is about giving defenders the tools to stop small, fast-moving drones before they can harm forces, bases, and critical assets,” said Michal Mor, CEO and co-founder of Smart Shooter.

JIATF-401 coordinates counter-drone work across the U.S. military and federal agencies. The task force is led by U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross.

“Our approach allows us to identify the right capabilities for specific operational requirements and rapidly deliver those capabilities to the warfighter,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of JIATF-401.

The award is Smart Shooter’s second with the task force, following a contract announced in March 2026. The company says thousands of SMASH systems are already in use across the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps, and that it has won a series of new and follow-on orders from those services over the past year. SMASH is also used by forces in Israel, the United Kingdom, Germany and other NATO and allied countries.

JIATF-401 has been signing larger counter-drone deals this year. In May, it gave Perennial Autonomy a three-year contract worth up to $500 million for interceptor drones, including the Merops system that U.S. forces have used against Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, DroneXL reported.

Smart Shooter, founded in Israel, has offices in the United States, Europe and Australia.