It was recognized that the XS1 technology was the future and just as the many new (since the 1990s) sniping accessories have become rugged and reliable enough to be standard items, so will the XS1 approach or something similar to it. Snipers are trained to take good care of their rifles, scopes and the growing number of electronic gadgets they now use but the XS1 was a major leap in terms of electronics, sensors and required maintenance. The major obstacle was the wear and tear of battlefield use and the fact that most snipers were satisfied with their existing scopes. The army tested the XS1 and found it worked but did not try to adopt the system for a lot of military sniper rifles, even though it would be a major improvement for snipers. Second shots are not always possible as the target tends to duck after the first one. For a professional sniper first shot success averages about 25 percent and 70 percent on the second shot. These scopes were still expensive because they are sensor equipped and computerized to the extent that initial tests showed that over 70 percent of first-time users could hit a target over 900 meters distant with the first shot. These initially cost $27,000 but the price has since come down to less than half that as the firm introduced more models and sales increased. When the user has the intended target in the block a button is pushed and that target is locked and a precise firing angle calculated and shot fired unless the user intervenes.Īn American firm (TrackingPoint) pioneered this tech and in 2013 introduced its first computerized shooting system, the XS1. The sight puts a visual block around potential targets the user is aiming at. SMASH could be mounted and used on any weapon with an M1913 Picatinny rail (that allows the sight to work with the trigger). There were several major innovations in SMASH compared to the computerized sights pioneered by American firm TrackingPoint. In early 2018 SMASH was offered to foreign militaries (and police organizations). The military tried it out with the infantry and special operations troops and at the end of the year approved it for use. In 2017 the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) was offered a new computerized rifle scope SMASH from an Israeli firm (Smart Shooter).
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