Mil News Middle East Military News

[BravoZulu]

Iraqi brigade swaps Abrams for T-90S tanks

Iraq’s newly arrived T-90S tanks have been delivered to units that previously operated M1A1 Abrams tanks.

The Iraqi Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the decision to swap the US-made tanks for Russian ones on 6 June, saying 39 T-90S tanks had been handed over to the 35th Brigade of the 9th Armoured Division to equip two battalions. It said the units’ officers and crews had been retrained with Russian assistance and their Abrams tanks transferred to the division’s 34th Brigade.

The 34th Brigade has been seen operating T-72s, the tank from which the T-90S was developed.

It was confirmed in 2017 that Iraq had ordered 73 tanks in the basic T-90S standard and the associated T-90SK command variant. The Iraqi MoD announced in February 2018 that 36 had been delivered.

http://www.janes.com/article/80736/iraqi-brigade-swaps-abrams-for-t-90s-tanks

 

[BravoZulu]

Israel:
IMI Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries have unveiled their jointly developed Rampage missile. The new long-range precision strike weapon is suitable for use during stand-off-range attacks.
The supersonic Rampage is 15.4ft long, has a weight of 1,250 lb. and boasts a warhead, rocket engine and advanced navigation suite which allow precision striking of high-quality, well-protected targets at a distance of 90 miles. It is a derivate of IMI Systems’ ground-launched guided Extended Range Artillery rocket.
Minimal changes have been made to the weapon’s external design for its air-launched role. The missile can operate in any weather conditions, both day and night. It offers simplified operation, with no need for a “man in the loop” and can be carried on a broad range of aircraft. For Israel itself, this could be a valuable capability, particularly in light of its low-level fight against Iran and its proxies, including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, in Syria.
Israeli jets carrying Rampage missiles could easily hit targets in and around the Syrian capital Damascus from within Israel’s own airspace.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/a...ship-develops-rampage-stand-off-missi-449358/

 

[BravoZulu]

Turkish submarine sinks retired tanker in torpedo exercise
The Turkish Navy has shared a video of its Type 209/1200 submarine TCG Yildiray sinking a decommissioned navy tanker during a torpedo-firing exercise.

The navy said the firing took place on June 11 without specifying the exercise location.

In the video, the Ay-class submarine can be seen submerging before firing a single wire-guided torpedo at the tanker. The video subsequently shows the tanker sinking after being almost split in half.

At 37 years, the TCG Yildiray is one of the oldest submarines in Turkish Navy service and is expected to be replaced by one the Reis-class submarines from 2020, together with the rest of the submarines in her class.

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https://navaltoday.com/2018/06/13/v...-retired-tanker-in-torpedo-exercise/?uid=5430

 

[BravoZulu]

UAE Navy vessel on fire after Houthi attack off Yemen

A United Arab Emirates Navy vessel has reportedly been attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels during a Saudi-led coalition attack on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.

The Yemeni rebel group issued a statement on their official website on June 13 claiming the Yemeni Navy prevented an amphibious landing operation by striking a navy vessel with two missiles.

In another statement on June 14, the group said the “destruction of the navy vessel” was not the first and would not be the last.

CNN has further received confirmation from US officials who said the UAE Navy vessel was struck and caught fire.

The attack occurred during a Saudi-led operation to recapture the port city of Hodeidah, which is estimated to receive 70 percent of food, fuel and medicines imported to Yemen.

On Monday, UN warned against a military escalation in Hodeida expressing concerning that as many as 250,000 people could be killed in an operation to retake the city.

“I am extremely concerned about military escalation in Hodeida and their humanitarian and political impact. We’re in contact with parties to avoid further escalation. We call on them to exercise restraint and engage with political efforts to spare Hodeida a military confrontation,” UN’s Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths said in a tweet on Wednesday.

This is not the first Yemen’s Houthi fighters have attacked both commercial and navy vessels in the Red Sea.

In October 2016, the US Navy launched Tomahawk missiles at Houthi positions after the rebels tried several times to hit US destroyer USS Mason with missiles in the Bab-el-Mandab Strait.

The Tomahawk attack occurred shortly after the Houthis hit and almost sank the UAE-operated catamaran HSV-2 Swift.

Several months later, Houthis used “drone boats” to hit Royal Saudi Navy frigate Al-Madinah in an attack that killed two and injured three other Royal Saudi Navy sailors.

The most recent known Houthi attack on vessels in the Red Sea took place in April 2018 when the rebels targeted a Saudi-flagged oil tanker. The tanker was only lightly damaged in the attack.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/06/14/uae-navy-vessel-on-fire-after-houthi-attack-off-yemen/?uid=5430

 

[rtomedic]

Turkish fighter jets 'neutralize' 35 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq
Turkish military aircraft have "neutralized" nearly three dozen members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group when they carried out a string of airstrikes against terrorist hideouts in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

The Turkish General Staff, in a statement released on Sunday, announced that Turkish fighter jets bombarded Qandil region, neutralizing 35 Kurdish militants in the process.

The Turkish military generally uses the term "neutralize" to signify that the militants were killed, captured or surrendered.

Speaking at a live interview with Turkish-language Kanal 7 television network on Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish warplanes had hit a "critical" gathering of the PKK terror group in northern Iraq's Qandil region.

On June 8, at least nine PKK militants were killed when the Turkish military carried out an airstrike in the country's southeastern province of Sirnak

The provincial governor's office said in a statement that the aerial assault took place in Bestler-Dereler region near the provincial capital city of Sirnak, situated some 1,000 kilometers east of the capital Ankara.

At least three Turkish soldiers were killed and another sustained injuries on June 4, when PKK militants launched a rocket attack in Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari. ...MORE

https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/...presstv01.htm?_m=3n.002a.2318.ph0ao0037n.24ue

 

[rtomedic]

Turkey will 'definitely take F-35s' despite US Congress saying 'No'
Both Ankara and the Pentagon are set to complete a deal for F-35s, ignoring a decision by US lawmakers to torpedo the shipment of 100 fighter jets to Turkey. Their opinion doesn't matter, Ankara has said.

"Necessary contacts have been made with the US, and delivery of the F-35 jets will be on Thursday," Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters on Wednesday, two days after the US Senate voted overwhelmingly to block the deal.

Senators chose to call off the long-expected sale, citing Ankara's plans to buy S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries from Russia, and the detention of an American citizen. The same decision had earlier been made by the House of Representatives, but the bill is yet to be signed by the president.

The vote in Congress does "not hold values for us," another Turkish deputy PM, Hakan Cavusoglu, stated. "We will also definitely take the F-35s," he said. ...MORE

https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/...0620-rt01.htm?_m=3n.002a.2321.ph0ao0037n.24xf

 

[AAR Galileo]

Israel:

The IDF begins field testing a new set of combat clothing

The Israeli Defense Forces are one of the very few modern and technologically advanced organizations out there who have been behind when it comes to combat clothing and camouflage patterns. The primary reason is likely the cost associated with the changes but also with how camouflage or anything concealment is perceived. For starters, we used American BDUs in woodland or desert patterns (a set I was once issued still had a Ranger scroll on it … good lord) or Fibrotex’s suits which became extremely popular — and beneficial to the IDF‘s way of working. To summarize it, the IDF believes that concealment is achieved through additional items, and not uniforms. However, it is important to note that in certain SF units there was use of different colors and patterns depending on circumstances.

https://sofrep.com/105005/the-idf-begins-field-testing-a-new-set-of-combat-clothing/

 

[BravoZulu]

Turkey:
Turkish officials revealed that the negotiations on the joint production of the An-188 STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) military cargo aircraft between aerospace and procurement officials of Turkey and Ukraine has moved onward,

According to a Turkish aerospace official, “This is a complex program for which both sides are keen. We are positively discussing several aspects of an optimal modality for co-production.”

As a next step of the negotiation process, a Turkish delegation will inspect the Antonov production line in Kiev, Ukraine as agreed by Turkish and Ukrainian officials.

SSB (the defence procurement office of Turkey), TAI (Tusas Turkish Aerospace Industries), and the Ukrainian Antonov and Ukroboronprom are the parties participating in the negotiations. Antonov is part of the state-owned defence and aerospace holding group Ukroboronprom.

Antonov presented for the first time its An-188 at the aerospace exhibition Eurasia-2018 in Antalya, Turkey, from 25 to 28 April.

Turkish officials explained that a co-production deal could be concluded only when the aircraft is brought to full compliance with NATO standards.

The short take-off and landing aircraft will have an innovative glass cockpit with the latest flight navigation and communication equipment. The flight distance covered by the An-188 aircraft is up to 7,700 km. The aircraft features a cruising altitude of up to 12,100 m. Depending on the aircraft and engine type and version a speed of up to 800 km/h could be reached.

All new aircraft belonging to the An-188 family will be capable of basing on different airfields, as well as air strips, and landing on short runways the length of which is only 600-800 m.

The new family will involve three versions with different turbofan engines – An-188-100 (with four D-436-148FM three-shaft high-bypass turbofan engines of the Ukrainian company Ivchenko-Progress); An-188-110 (with four AI-28 new-generation engines of Ivchenko-Progress); and An-188-120 (with four LEAP high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines of CFM International).

 

[AAR Galileo]

Israel:

Dozens of religious soldiers from the IDF’s Paratroopers Brigade refused to listen to a female parachuting instructor earlier this week, turning their backs to her when she tried to give them a demonstration.
The incident came to light after the mother of the instructor, Shira Margalit, who runs a popular women’s news website, posted about it on Twitter on Wednesday morning.

“I barely fell asleep last night after a hard day in which I had to hear my soldier daughter Noa, a parachuting instructor, tell me that when she was giving a demonstration to 70 paratroopers during an exercise, 50 of them turned their backs to her and stood themselves in lines because she was a woman!” Margalit wrote.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/relig...r-fire-for-turning-back-on-female-instructor/

Well IMO they didn't deserve to be in the army. If they have to go in operation will they ask for a men only C-130 crew? If they are wounded, will they refuse to be treated by a nurse?

 

[BravoZulu]

Israel:
Israel will send its ‘Sons of Sa’ar’ to protect its Mediterranean gas fields and its exclusive economic zone.

The Israeli Navy is set to receive four next-generation Sa’ar 6corvettes between 2019 and 2024. The 300-feet-long warships, which are currently being built in Kiel, Germany, will be packed to the gills with highly sensitive detection equipment — to monitor both the surrounding sea and airspace — as well as offensive weapons and defensive missile interceptors.

The ships will be equipped with the ‘Naval Dome’, essentially a navalised version of the Iron Dome, with the Barak-8 missile at its core. The Barak-8 aims to deliver up to 42 mile range, thanks to a dual-pulse solid rocket motor whose second “pulse” fires as the missile approaches its target. This ensures that the missile isn’t just coasting in the final stages, giving it more than one chance at a fast, manoeuvring target. The missile’s most important feature may be its active seeker. Instead of forcing its ship or land-based radar to “paint”/illuminate its target at all times, the Barak 8 can be left alone once it is close to its target. This is an excellent approach for dealing with saturation attacks using older ship radars, which can track many targets but illuminate just a few.

https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/an-lcs-for-israel-04065/

 

[BravoZulu]

Iran:
Iranian media reports that the Islamic Republic has a new anti-ship ballistic missile in its arsenal.

Dubbed Fateh Mobin, the new missile is based on the existing Fateh 110 missile design.

The Mobin was recently tested by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.The missile flew more than 100 miles on a flight path over the strait to a test range in the Iranian desert.

The Fateh 110's development started in 1995 and was first tested in 2001. According to CSIS the Fateh 110 already comes in two anti-ship variants.

In 2014 the IRGC displayed the Hormuz-1 and Hormuz-2 equipped with anti-radiation capabilities for attacking radar systems. Another anti-ship variant of the Fateh is the Khalij Fars, which does have the electro-optical seeker required to improve accuracy enough to potentially hit a moving target.

Defense Minister Gen. Hatami recently underlined Iran's determination to further enhance its defense power in all fields "despite sanctions, pressures and psychological war by enemies". A message clearly directed towards an US and regional audience.

 

[BravoZulu]

Turkey:
Turkey may lose a $1.5 billion defense deal as the diplomatic crisis with the US escalates.

The contract in question is Pakistan's planned acquisition of 30 Turkish-made T129 ATAK helicopter gunships. The T129 is produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries but partly uses US-made engine parts for which TAI will need US export licenses. If those licenses are not issued Turkey cannot legally export the gunships to Pakistan.

The helicopter is powered by two CTS800-4A turboshaft engines that are manufactured by LHTEC, a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce. Turkey and Pakistan signed a deal July 13th for 30 T129 ATAK helicopter gunships.

 

[BravoZulu]

Iran’s first indigenously developed fighter jet looks a lot like the American F-5

Iran on Tuesday unveiled the “Kowsar,” it’s first domestic fighter jet that President Hassan Rouhani said was designed to create a “lasting peace.”

In a speech shortly after sitting in the cockpit of the fourth-generation fighter at the National Defence Industry exhibition, Rouhani said: “When I speak of our readiness to defend, it means we seek lasting peace. If we lack readiness, we welcome war.”

Defense Minister Amir Hatami first announced the jet last week, saying that Iran’s moves to boost its defense program was motivated by the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and threats from the United States and Israel.

State news agency Tasnim said the two-seat Kowsar had an advanced avionics system and “multi-purpose radar” and stressed that it was “100 percent” domestically produced.

Commentators quickly noted that the Kowsar, despite state media assertions, looked familiar.

“An hour ago, a 42 yrs old U.S. made F-5F which is just a testbed for avionic of Iranian Air Force future training jet (Kowsar-88) was unveiled & claimed to be a 4th Generation Fighter jet completely designed & manufactured in Iran,” Iranian aviation historian Babak Taghvaee tweeted.

Joseph H. Dempsey, Research Associate for Defence and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, noted the physical similarities between the two planes:

“It is possible that Iran has reversed engineered the F-5 design and can produce their own versions locally – as opposed to using existing airframes. There remains some questions over this, particularly in respect of building engines and sourcing updated avionics independently,” Dempsey told The Defense Post.

“Whilst the Kowsar shown today is externally an F-5F it is not going to be identical to the ones received from the U.S.,” he added. “For example, interior images portray a more modern digital cockpit display and ejection seats based upon the Russian K-36, as used on the Mig-29.”

https://thedefensepost.com/2018/08/21/iran-kowsar-fighter-jet-f-5/

 

[BravoZulu]

Turkey:
Turkey started receiving the second batch of Boeing-built Chinook helicopters on Saturday, Daily Sabah reports.

The Presidency of the Defense Industry announced that the first of five helicopters, part of the second delivery of Chinooks, entered the inventory of the Turkish Military over the weekend, the report said.

The initial agreement with Boeing, an American multinational corporation, on the purchase of 11 CH-47 helicopters in 2011 first delivered six helicopters in 2016.

http://www.defenseworld.net/news/23...ch_of_Chinook_Choppers_To_Turkey#.W4Qk_vluaUk

 

[BravoZulu]

Egypt:

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has authorized the release of $1.2 billion in U.S. military assistance to Egypt, despite human rights concerns that have held up previous funding.

The State Department said Friday it is notifying Congress that Pompeo has signed national security waivers allowing the money known as foreign military financing, or FMF, to be spent. Congress has 15 days to weigh in on the waivers, which were signed on Aug. 21 but not previously made public. It was not immediately clear why there was a delay in the notification. The money includes $1 billion for the current 2018 budget year and $195 million appropriated for 2017 that would have had to have been returned to the Treasury had it not been spent by Sept. 30.

In July, Pompeo had lifted a hold on another $195 million in FMF that Congress had approved for budget year 2016 but which former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had frozen due to the continuing human rights issues.

The department said Friday the Trump administration still had "serious concerns about the human rights situation in Egypt" and would continue to raise those concerns with senior Egyptian officials.

"At the same time," it said, "strengthened security cooperation with Egypt is important to U.S. national security. Secretary Pompeo determined that continuing with the obligation and expenditure of these FMF funds is important to strengthening our security cooperation with Egypt."

Independent monitoring groups have documented continued human rights abuses in Egypt over the past year and one such organization, Human Rights First, condemned Friday's announcement.

"Sending more military aid is just doubling down on July's terrible decision," it said. "This is a clear signal that the Trump Administration is more than okay with President Sisi's targeting of human rights defenders. Green lights don't come much bigger than this."

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has described the situation in Egypt as the "worst human rights crisis in the country in decades." Egyptian police, the group said, systematically use "torture, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances to silence political dissent," according to a recent assessment.

Amnesty International reported an escalation in Egypt's crackdown on civil society and pointed to routine "grossly unfair" trials of government critics, peaceful protesters, journalists and human rights defenders.

The suspension of the U.S. military aid to Egypt in August 2017 came as a surprise as the two allies had forged increasingly close ties under President Donald Trump.

In announcing the freeze, Tillerson said he wasn't able to certify that Egypt had met the human rights criteria set by Congress in order to receive the American assistance.

Egypt responded angrily and called that decision a "misjudgment of the nature of the strategic relations that have bound the two countries for decades."

Egypt long has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, receiving nearly $80 billion in military and economic assistance over the past 30 years.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/...-release-12-billion-in-military-aid-to-egypt/

 

[BravoZulu]

Egypt:
Port Said, the first warship built in Egypt, has been launched in Alexandria.

The launching ceremony took place at Alexandria Shipyard on September 6, French shipbuilder Naval Group informed.

Port Said is the second Gowind 2500 corvette ordered by the Egyptian Navy.

The first ship from the batch, ENS El Fateh, was completed by Naval Group in France and delivered to the navy in September 2017. Apart from Port Said, another two corvettes will be built in Egypt under a transfer of technology agreement.

“Port-Said is the 5th ship designed by Naval Group and operated by the Egyptian Navy, after the FREMM frigate Tahya Misr in 2015, the two Landing Helicopter Docks Nasser & Sadat in 2016 and the first Gowind corvette, El Fateh, in 2017,” Hervé Guillou, Naval Group CEO, commented.

The 102-meter Gowind corvettes are equipped with the SETIS combat system and the Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module (PSIM) in addition to a 76mm Oto Melara gun, vertical launch cells for MBDA’s MICA missile and torpedo launchers.

With a displacement of 2,600 tons, the ships are crewed by 80 persons (including the helicopter detachment) and can reach a maximum speed of 25 knots.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/09/06/egypt-launches-first-locally-built-corvette/

 

[BravoZulu]

Egypt:
The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Egypt of forty-six thousand (46,000) M831A1 and M865 rounds and ten thousand (10,000) APFSDS-T rounds for an estimated cost of $99 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Egypt has requested to buy forty-six thousand (46,000) 120MM Target Practice – Tracer (M831A1) and 120MM Target Practice, Cone Stabilized, Discarding Sabot – (M865) rounds and ten thousand (10,000) 120MM 4th-Generation Kinetic Energy-Tungsten (KE-W) A4 Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer (APFSDS-T) rounds. Also included are four thousand five hundred (4,500) 120MM Insensitive Munitions High Explosive with Tracer (IM HE-T) tank rounds, field implementation, testing inspections, spares and repair parts, support and test equipment, field support publications and technical data, U.S. government and contractor engineering and logistics support services, personnel training and training equipment, quality assurance team support services, preparation of ammunition for shipment, ammunition delivery, component improvement program and repair, other associated equipment and support, and other related elements of logistical and program support. The estimated cost is $99 million.
http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/egypt-120mm-tank-rounds

 

[BravoZulu]

Iran:
Doubtless we have all seen news of Iran’s ballistic missile and drone strikes against Islamic State targets in Deir Ez-Zor province in Syria bordering Iraq. Iran refers this military attack as Operation Muharram Strike. The attack, like an earlier one from the same launch location in Iran, partly employed 6 ballistic missiles.

The ballistic missile front is what I’d like to touch on here.

The strikes were retaliation for the Ahvaz terrorist attacks which killed 80 people. A terrorist attack of that scale in France or the United States would dominate global media coverage, but in Iran less so. However, I would argue that the strikes were just as much, if not more so, a demonstration of Iran’s regional deterrence strategy. Iran has attributed the terrorist attacks to IS, but also to Iranian Arab groups sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. If the Iranian Arab group was responsible, but unable to be targeted, then the Muharram Strike operation is an instance of the “related or not” doctrine of Donald Rumsfeld. It would also lend credence to the view that the strikes were a demonstration of Iran’s deterrence posture in a region racked by Sunni-Shia conflict sparked by that first demonstration of the “related or not” doctrine, namely the invasion of Iraq, but also rising tensions with the US and Israel.

When a state suffers a terrorist attack then somebody’s head must roll. It’s preferable that head belongs to the perpetrator, but if not the next best head suffices. The more powerful the state the bigger the head that needs to go. That’s partly why Saddam Hussein lies in state underneath the flight path of the Muharram Strike missiles.

Iran fired 6 ballistic missiles of two types. Firstly, the Zolfaghar variant of the solid fuelled Fateh-110 short range ballistic missile. The Zolfaghar has a range of 750km. The other missile, the subject of our interest, was the Qiam variant of the Shahab-2 liquid fuelled short range missile itself derived from the Scud-C. The Qiam has a range of 800km.

There’s an Iranian news video of Muharram Strike that is worth watching.

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http://analysans.net/irans-operatio...-missile-terminal-guidance-improved-accuracy/

 

[Josiah]

https://esquiresg.com/features/insi...ret-hostage-rescue-and-counterterrorist-unit/

A very good feature article on the YAMAM in Esquire Singapore.

 

[BravoZulu]

Israel:
Israeli defense firm Smart Shooter showcased a new optical device for assault rifles that the company said virtually guarantees rounds on target.

SMASH 2000 Plus is a ruggedized optical device that can be placed on a wide range of legacy small arms, including the M4 Carbine.

The system works by tracking potential ground and aerial drone targets using a day or night mode with a traditional red dot sight picture. Once found, it works out a firing solution even as a soldier’s natural breathing and fatigue draws his aim off target. All a soldier has to do is hold the trigger down.

When the solution is calibrated, the round is let loose, hitting the target and nothing else, Smart Shooter officials told Army Times at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., this week.

“The human factor is the main reason soldiers and policemen miss the target ... because they are under stress and fatigued,” said Nir Kaveh, Smart Shooter’s marketing director.

“What we promise here is that almost every bullet will be on target, by controlling the exact moment when the bullet is released," Mazor added. “So if you’re not on target, you won’t be able to fire.”

In essence, the system adds digital precision to rifles and ammunition already fielded to troops.

While the system is designed for the rigors of close-quarters combat, it’s also able to quickly revert back to free-fire mode through the click of a button.

During one trial, Kaveh said the company took a group of Israeli soldiers and drastically increased the proportion of rounds on target.

Indeed, SMASH 2000 has been in use by the Israel Defense Forces since earlier this year, according to the company. However, Kaveh wasn’t allowed to specify which units and where the system was being fielded.

SMASH 2000 Plus is the latest variant of the SMASH system. The new variation is specifically designed to also lock, track and accurately hit fast and maneuverable tactical drones during the day and at night.

“Drones are increasingly used by insurgents to improve their situational awareness and even drop bombs on patrols," Michal Mor, CEO of Smart Shooter, said in a company release.

“Their [drones'] small size and speed make them hard for a normal shooter to tackle effectively, but SMASH makes it easy, denying enemy forces those advantages,” she added.

SMASH has been successfully tested by U.S. special operations forces and other military agencies, the company said.

The platform is also undergoing testing with the Australian Defence Force, as a combined effort with Thales Australia as part of the Australian Army’s F-90 assault rifle upgrade program.

Also of note, the SMASH system provides an optional video recording function of engagements for training or after-action debrief and analysis. Like all optics, it still needs to be “zero’d in" to the rifle on which it’s mounted.

The company also offers a SMASH 2000M with a 4x increase in magnification, as well as a SMASH 2000N with enhanced night capabilities
https://www.armytimes.com/newslette...optic-basically-guarantees-one-shot-one-kill/