SECURITY and police forces across the world are able to catch more criminals and terrorists - literally - thanks to being supplied with thousands of an amazing invention called the X-Net.

Sounding similar to something from the pages of comic-book heroes such as Spider-Man, X-Net is a portable spike and net system developed by the QinetiQ group, the largest independent science and technology company in the United Kingdom.

When thrown in a vehicle’s path, X-Net can bring it to a complete and safe standstill, typically within 75 metres - whether or not the vehicle is equipped with standard or run-flat tyres - dramatically reducing any danger to the public and law-enforcement crews.

Easy to deploy across a road in front of oncoming cars and light and heavy trucks, the net wraps around the wheels and axle while puncturing the tyres to stop any chance of a getaway. Attempts to drive forwards or backwards are thwarted by the net.

It causes minimal damage and, despite its strength, can be cut away with a knife. And the potential to save vast amounts of money by preventing damage and destruction of 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,” said a QinetiQ spokesman. “Because X-Net 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 can be very effective in:
* pursuit management, allowing specific vehicles to be targeted for arrest;
* cordoning off regions or roadways to stop vehicles entering or leaving defined locations such as inner-city rings of steel, buildings or airports;
* mobile checkpoints to control vehicle flow, such as peacekeeping operations and during terrorist alerts.

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 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 has great potential to save lives and protect property wherever it is deployed.”

X-Net is made of Dyneema, a super-strong polyethylene that is used as nets for fishing trawlers and as tethers for super tankers. Kilogram for kilogram, 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 around wheels and axles. The overall system weight is fewer than 12kg, making the net extremely portable; the smallest variant can be carried in a backpack.

Today, vehicle “arresting” has become a key operational capability for military peacekeeping operations. With the ever-present threat from terrorists, QinetiQ’s X-Net system is already being used to establish vehicle checkpoints to protect against suspect vehicles and bombers.

Fiona Lewinton, managing director of QinetiQ’s Land Division, said: “Non-lethal equipment such as X-Net provides an intermediate solution between the soldiers ‘shouting’ and ‘shooting’, particularly with the increased threat from vehicle-borne explosive devices.”

QinetiQ has secured a five-year contract for the supply of X-Net to the United States military. The base contract has the potential to supply up to 2,000 X-Nets a year, as well as supply training for variants. The first orders for deployable and training nets, worth about 9.2 million US dollars, have been placed and other X-Net-based prototype solutions may become part of future agreements.

X-Net is a UK invention that was originally developed for the UK military and is now sold worldwide to police and security forces. Traditional roadside arresting systems typically use hollow spikes but have limitations in that they only puncture tyres and do not rapidly stop a vehicle.

Not long since its official launch, there has been international interest in X-Net, with the US military successfully deploying the system in Haiti and, more recently, Iraq. With suicide car bombings increasingly frequent in troubled hotspots across the globe, the X-Net provides military, police and civilian authorities with a valuable life-saving device.

QinetiQ is Europe’s biggest science and technology research organisation. It employs nearly 10,000 staff, including some of the UK’s leading scientists and internationally acclaimed experts. Its wide-ranging research and development activities encompass fields as diverse as energy, telecommunications, automotive technology, rail technology, electrical and electronic technology, aerospace, health, oil and gas, information technology and defence.

英国发明超级X-Net用来“网诱”嫌疑犯

一项令人惊奇的发明——X-Net，为全世界的警察力量提供了缉拿更多罪犯和恐怖分子的有效“武器”，这已经成为一个不可否认的事实。

X-Net听上去有点像漫画书中的英雄人物“蜘蛛侠”，事实上，这是一个由奎奈蒂克集团（QinetiQ group）发明的便携式尖状物网状系统。该集团是英国最大的专门从事科技研发的自主性企业。

如果在机动车道上安装X-Net系统，可以为车辆提供很强的安全稳定性能，不管车辆是否配备有防爆胎，都能在75公尺之内达到完全静止，从而在很大程度上减少对市民的危害，同时也为执法人员省去了很多麻烦。

这个装置的原理很简单：如果前面有车，灯或重型卡车，这个装置就会戳破轮胎，并把车轮包裹起来，使车辆无法前行。此时，由于有这个网状物的包裹，车辆试图前行或后退都是不可能实现的。

尽管这个小小的网用一个小刀就可以破坏，但是它却把车辆由于惯性而酿成的危害程度降到最低，从而可以为地方、个人甚至于公安部门的生命财产挽回巨大的损失。

奎奈蒂克集团的一位发言人说：“每年的窃车事件以及盗车人和飙车者不负责任的行为所引发的危害，都要直接或间接地给国家造成高达数百万英镑的损失。X- Net的高安全性能为公众提供了更大的保障，很大程度上减少了警务人员及广大民众的潜在危害，原因很简单，就在于它可以在危急情况下克服惯性，使机动车辆完全静止下来。

由于其具有安装简易，操作便捷的特点，X-Net的强力功效表现在：
﹡目标管理——可将确定的车辆作为捕获目标
﹡阻止机动车辆进入或驶离市内铁护栏、建筑物或机场等限定区域或路面。
﹡全面警戒恐怖分子和在维和工作时期，设置移动检查站控制车辆进入。

奎奈蒂克集团的首席安全专家Michael Burns对这一设施的成功施行表示欢迎，他说：“如果X-Net 用在军事上的反暴行动上的话，它将在限制敌手车辆进入脆弱要地的行动中，发挥极为重要的作用。在安装有X-Net体系的车道上行驶，警察可以随时安全停车，而不至于在市区‘横冲直撞’。毫无疑问，无论在哪里运用了这种设备，X-Net在挽回生命和保护财产方面都有很大的潜力。”

X-Net是由大力玛纤维制成的，这是一种用来做渔船网或巨轮绳索的聚乙烯材料，其强度要比普通钢铁高出八倍。

聚乙烯纤维的表面涂有胶粘层，以保持其柔软性，以便于吸收网状系统在环绕轮轴时所产生的巨大热量。整个装置的重量不足12公斤，从而携带十分方便。最小的X-Net设备可以装在背包里。

现在，车辆制动已经成为军事维和行动中的一项重要能力。面对长期存在的恐怖主义威胁，奎奈蒂克集团研制的X-Net系统正在被运用于建立车辆检查站，以保护民众不受嫌疑车辆和炸弹袭击者的危害。

奎奈蒂克集团地政部的总经理Fiona Lewinton表示：“非致命装备如X-Net为警察提供了一个过渡方案，可以避免警方从发现歹徒到射击歹徒过程中遇到的意外情况——尤其是在面临车载爆炸装置的危急形势下。”

奎奈蒂克集团已经和美国军方签署了为期五年的合约，答应为美方提供X-Net。根据双方的基础合约，英国同意每年为美国提供2，000套X-Nets装置，并为其提供不同X-Net装置的技术培训。目前，美国已经向英方发出第一批价值920万美元的订单。其他X-Net雏形方案也将成为双方下一份合约的内容。

起初，英国研制X-Net的目的是为了运用在英军事领域。现在，这一装置已经被售往世界，供全球各地的公安警卫力量使用。路边普通的制动装置一般是不合格的，其局限性就在于它仅仅能够刺破轮胎，却不能实现紧急刹车。

在X-Net正式投入使用不久，便引起了国际社会的普遍关注，先是美国军方成功地在海地配备了这一装置，就在不久之前，伊拉克也开始运用实施。随着自杀式汽车爆炸事件在灾难多发区的频繁发生，X-Net可谓为军警以及执法机关提供了一个贵重的救生设备。

奎奈蒂克集团是欧洲最大的科研机构，员工将近10，000名，其中不乏英国顶级的科学家以及国际知名度很高的专家学者。该集团涉及的研发领域颇为全面而广泛，包括能源、电讯、汽车技术、铁路技术、电工电子技术、航空宇宙、医疗、石油及天然气、信息技术以及国防领域等。