US Marines Are Using This New Anti-Drone Smart Scope

The fight to counteract drone warfare continues to revolutionize all levels of the battlefield. From expanding the scope of conflicts to revolutionizing supply chains, the rise of artificial intelligence, robotics, and other emerging technologies are rapidly changing how nation-states approach warfare. Several of the resulting systems have grabbed headlines, ranging from Ukraine's army of ground robots to China's AI-trained predator drones. Defending against these systems, particularly drones, has required that militaries get creative, deploying everything from high-energy laser cannons to fish nets to stop droves of drones swarming cities and military installations across global war zones.

A major challenge with defending against drone swarms is the simple matter of numbers. Because militaries often deploy hundreds of attack drones per day, downing drones can quickly drain munition reserves. The cost differential between costly interceptor missiles  and cheap attack drones, which can cost as low as a few thousand dollars, only further underscores the need to craft cost-efficient defense solutions. One means of doing so may involve making traditional low-cost weapons systems, like rifles, more efficient in targeting drone swarms.

One such technology is Smart Shooter's SMASH 2000L smart scope. A rifle accessory that allows soldiers to sight and down drones via an optic's fire control system, the SMASH 2000L is the latest anti-drone technology to be adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps. Reportedly, the scope transforms Marine rifles into efficient drone defense systems through an autonomous system that performs ballistic calculations and prevents rounds unlikely to hit its target from being released.

Manufactured by Smart Shooter, the SMASH 2000L was first tested by the Marine Corps in 2021. Capable of being mounted on any rifle, SMASH serves as a red-dot sight until users engage its optic's fire control system. Once initiated, the system uses "proprietary target acquisition and tracking algorithms" to help select, follow, and hit potential targets. According to Smart Shooter, the scope uses advanced image processing to recognize targets and predict movements. Targeting modes include a drone mode, which allows soldiers to lock onto a much smaller target. 

Once locked on, the scope continues to track targets despite either its handler's or target's movements. Interestingly, the system prevents the rifle from firing until Smart Shooter's algorithm determines the rifle is likely to strike its target. In a statement given to Marine-Corps Times, Col. Eric Flanagan, spokesman for Combat Development and Integration, said that "the SMASH 2000L will give the rifleman the ability to quickly obtain a positive firing solution and increase their probability of kill when engaging Unmanned Aircraft Systems." 

Adding these capabilities is critical to the Corps' anti-UAV initiatives. The push has seen the Marines reorganize their approach, incorporating more mobile, lightweight solutions into their aerial defenses. As a 2025 Marine press release acknowledges, most of the Navy's UAV defenses are designed for mounted platforms "are not always practical or available at scale to support individual unit operations." New systems like the SMASH 2000L may help close this capabilities gap. As Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan stated in an interview with Task and Purpose when the program was introduced in July 2025, "The SMASH 2000L provides easily attachable components that will enable a standard M4 to be utilized for targeting and defeating [small unmanned aerial systems] with conventional small arms fire."

Amid the conflict in Iran, the task force dedicated to "unleashing American drone dominance" announced it would deliver over 200 of the scopes to soldiers on the frontlines. As Army Lt. Col. Adam Scher wrote in a press release, the deal was "executed at a record pace," showcasing a "commitment to cutting through red tape to deliver critical counter-UAS capability at the speed of relevance during combat operations in support of Operation Epic Fury." In April, the DOD announced a new counter-UAV online marketplace to facilitate this effort.

Shortly after the announcement, photos of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit pictured marines using the scope during anti-UAV training exercises aboard the USS Portland, part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. In March, Reuters reported that the USS Boxer was being deployed as part of the president's deployment of more than 50,000 reinforcements to the Middle East. Task and Purpose confirmed with Smart Shooter that the company's scopes were the systems pictured.

The war in Iran has showcased the need to shift towards anti-UAV capabilities. DOD leaders hope the addition of SMASH 2000L scopes could contribute to this effort. As Army Brigadier General Matt Ross noted in the announcement of the purchase, the U.S. military needs "a layered defense that includes distributed sensing, the ability to track in real time, and capabilities to engage with both non-kinetic and kinetic countermeasures. This purchase does not solve that problem, but it's a step in the right direction." As it stands, the scope will be integrated into a multilayered web of anti-UAV defenses that will include everything from electronic warfare to modified Apache helicopters.