The futuristic police 'gun' that can stop a car's engine in 3 seconds

The days of car chases coming to a dramatic end as the police deploy their 'stinger' strips to puncture a getaway car's tyres could soon be over, thanks to a new British piece of technology.

The RF Safe-Stop, developed by Essex-based company E2V, uses a pulse of radio waves to completely knock out a car's electronics, rendering it inert within three seconds.

Using a targeted beam of L- and S-band radio pulses, the device is designed to temporarily short-circuit a vehicle's electronics. Andy Wood, product manager for the machine described it as "a small radar transmitter."

"The RF [radio frequency] is pulsed from the unit just as it would be in radar, it couples into the wiring in the car and that disrupts and confuses the electronics in the car causing the engine to stall."

The system works at a relatively short range - up to 50m - and according to E2V, is 'very directional', enabling security services to precisely target one car among many. In this way it differs from 'EMP' systems seen in films like GoldenEye and Ocean's Eleven.

It has also drawn strong interest for its potential to disrupt car bomb attacks.

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Usage is intended to be very simple. Speaking to The Engineer, Andy Wood explained that once a target was in range, all the operator of the system has to do is push a button.

‘So long as he’s got a green light on his display he knows he can push the red button and typically, in one operation, get a five second burst,’ said Wood. ‘Normally, the effect happens in three seconds. You should be pretty certain that with one shot you’re going stop whatever engine it is you’re trying to stop. Then you repeat as and when - if you see the person in the vehicle is trying to restart it you just give it another shot and demobilise the vehicle again.’

Currently the design is too big to be incorporated into a handheld device like a speed gun - mostly thanks to the fact that the radio aerial needs to be about 1m long. The system, which weighs 350kg, has been tested on the back of Toyota and Nissan pickup trucks.

Mr Wood told The Engineer magazine that the Safe-Stop can be fitted into fixed ground installations and rib-type boats, and that there are 'blueprint' plans to attach it to a helicopter.

E2V could not say whether the system had been safely tested on vehicles travelling at high speeds, but emphasised that it would be potentially a lot safer than 'stingers', especially against motorcycles. Due to the fact the system targets electronics, it would also be ineffective against cars of a certain age. "Certainly, if you took a 1960s Land Rover, there's a good chance you're not going to stop it", said Mr Wood.

The system is currently being tested by police and security services, and if it is deemed appropriate, could be brought into use to defend potential terrorist or criminal targets from vehicles which refuse to stop. E2V says that it has attracted interest from 17 countries and five UK government agencies.

Deputy Chief Constable Andy Holt, of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), who has evaluated the technology, said the machine had "potential, but it's very early days yet".