QinetiQ X-Net - protecting public and purse in the USA

A British invention designed to bring vehicles quickly and safely to a complete standstill, is beginning to have a significant impact on law-enforcement and peace keeping activities around the world and is now on show in the USA.

QinetiQ - a global defence and security company and Europe's largest science and technology organisation - has developed X-Net^TM to be portable and lightweight. It is a super-strong net with spikes positioned along its leading edge that is able to bring a range of road vehicles to a complete standstill, typically within 75 metres. The potential to save hundreds of thousands, if not millions each year caused by damage to municipal, private and police property is enormous.

'Every year cars are stolen and the resulting damage caused by these irresponsible acts of car theft and joy-riding can cost the taxpayer - both indirectly and directly - millions of dollars a year,' says QinetiQ manager Phil Dandy, speaking at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference (IACP) in Los Angeles where X-Net^TM was demonstrated to potential US customers, including the LA Police. 'Because X-Net^TM offers a greater degree of public safety, it has a huge potential to reduce hazards to police users and the general public simply because it has the power to stop vehicles completely.'

With the ability to set up and deploy rapidly, X-Net^TM can be very effective in:

- Mobile checkpoints to control vehicle flow, such as peacekeeping operations and during terrorist alerts;
- Cordoning off regions, or roadways to stop vehicles entering or leaving defined locations such as inner city rings of steel, buildings or airports;
- Pursuit management, allowing specific vehicles to be targeted for arrest

Easy to deploy across a road in front of oncoming cars, light and heavy trucks, the X-Net^TM wraps around the wheels and axle whilst puncturing the tyres to stop any chance of getaway. Attempts to drive forwards or backwards are thwarted by the net, which becomes entangled around the wheels and axle of the vehicle.

A little over a year since its official launch, there has been international interest in X-Net^TM, with the US military successfully deploying the system in Iraq and in Haiti. With suicide car bombings increasingly frequent in troubled hotspots around the world, X-Net^TM provides military, police and civilian authorities with a valuable life-saving device.

Michael Burns, one of QinetiQ's leading security experts, welcomed the success of the device, saying: “When used in military counter terrorism operations, X-Net^TM is extremely effective at controlling vehicles that might be used against highly important but vulnerable sites. When used by the police, cars can be safely stopped that might otherwise be driven in a lethal manner in our towns and cities. There is no doubt that X-Net^TM has great potential to save lives and protect property wherever it is deployed.'

X-Net^TM is made of Dyneema, a super-strong polyethylene that is used as nets for fishing trawlers and as tethers for super tankers. Kilo for kilo Dyneema is eight times stronger than steel. The fibres have a tacky coating to keep them supple so that they can absorb the enormous amount of heat and friction that is generated when they wrap round the wheels and axle. The overall system weight is less than 12kg, making X-Net^TM extremely portable and the smallest variant can be carried in a backpack.

When used in military counter terrorism operations X-Net^TM is extremely effective at controlling vehicles that might be used against highly important but vulnerable sites. When used by the police, cars can be safely stopped that might otherwise be driven in a lethal manner in our towns and cities.

Case studies

Haiti
In one incident in Haiti in April 2004, a car that accelerated after being signalled to stop at a checkpoint near Port-au-Prince was brought to a stop within 50 feet without injury to the driver or Marines and without shots being fired. At the time, the Marine Commander said that the X-Net^TM device worked as intended and that 'there is one Haitian that is glad that it did'. He described X-Net^TM as a keeper and has requested further devices.

2004 Olympics
Several X-Net^TM vehicle arrest systems were positioned around the perimeter of the Holland Heineken House complex, a highly successful events and entertainment venue developed by the Dutch Olympic Committee and the famous Dutch brewery. International sporting personalities, commentators, the media, as well as members of the Dutch royal family, passed through the Holland Heineken House complex in the centre of Athens. Universally popular, it is estimated that some 6000 members of the public passed through the complex each day.

'It is a great tribute to the growing reputation of X-Net^TM that the system was selected to help secure the perimeter of this highly important facility,' said QinetiQ's Phil Dandy.