Case Studies - Security

From combat zone checkpoints to highway blockades, there are many instances when vehicles need to be quickly brought to a halt without harming the occupants or others nearby.

“We needed a system capable of stopping a vehicle weighing up to 5,500 lb travelling at speeds up to 30 mph within 200 feet and non-lethality was a primary requirement. X-Net® successfully passed this and other rigorous tests to prove that it is capable of being successfully deployed in a military environment.”
Linda Chico, NLCS System Engineer for Advanced Energy Armaments Systems, Armaments Engineering and Technology Center, US Army

Challenge

• The US Army required a vehicle arrest system that was light to carry, easy to deploy and would quickly and safely stop vehicles in a non-lethal manner.

Solution

• The Army has so far purchased 2,000 of QinetiQ’s X-Net® non-lethal vehicle arrest systems.
  
• Spikes in the leading edge of the net pierce the front tyres, the net then envelopes them bringing the vehicle to a safe and controlled stop in seconds with minimal collateral damage.
  
• Weighing just 28lb, X-Net® is designed to stop vehicles up to two tonnes and its larger version TruX-Net™ will arrest vehicles up to 20 tonnes.
  
• A remote deployment solution, X-Tend™ will winch X-Net® across the road in 1.5 seconds.

Results

• Known as M2 Vehicle Lightweight Arresting Device (VLAD) by the Army, X-Net® is now an integral part of its Non-Lethal Capabilities Set which are collections of equipment sent to combat units.
• As part of the Hasty Checkpoint module it is currently being used in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.