Gooey toffee guns, high-powered water pistols and sniffer foxes. As Britain looks for new ways to fight terrorism after deadly attacks on London's transit system, some high-tech weapons considered over the past 25 years never made it past the drawing board.
Following the terror bombings last month, the UK government said on Monday that its scientific-development branch was currently designing a highly sensitive scanner to detect explosives, better body armor for police and more sophisticated surveillance equipment.
But among the weaponry tested and ultimately rejected by the Home Office's team of 200 scientists are ideas that would excite even James Bond's gadget man "Q".
Records show that in the past 25 years, the branch worked on a special gun that blasted a toffee-like foam at a suspect. Although it was effective in immobilizing a potential criminal, the project was abandoned when researchers found the sticky goo blocked people's airways.
A supercharged water gun, complete with a strap-on water tank, was also among the list of failed inventions. The portable water cannon did not make it past trial stage because the highly pressurized stream of water tended to knock the user off his feet.
Among the proposals from private inventors and commercial manufacturers was a cannon that fired tennis balls at high speed -- notably less lethal than a gun, but lacking in accuracy. A 12-gauge shotgun firing bean bags, or small sacks filled with sand, suffered the same defect.
The development branch, which prides itself on keeping police one step ahead of the criminal, also tried to tap the talents of Britain's wildlife. After two foxes were seen digging up a corpse on a golf course in northern England, scientists tried to harness the creature's superb sense of smell by training foxes to become sniffer dogs.
The idea was shelved when the foxes kept biting their handlers and eventually chewed through their enclosures and escaped.
"New technologies are constantly assessed and this may include evaluation of innovations from scientists, inventors and commercial companies against clear policing operational requirements," the Home Office said in a statement. "However, a new policing technology concept may not make it past the first stage for safety or efficiency reasons or if there is no current requirement."
Science is a vital tool in tackling crime and terrorism, says Charles Shoebridge, a security analyst and former counterterrorism intelligence officer with London's Metropolitan Police. But with science comes the need for practical tests, he says.
Research is under way on closed-circuit camera systems that would automatically recognize a suspect's face, or trigger an alarm if a package was left unattended, he said.
"The security services and police are among the keenest users of technology in the country," he said.
"They are certainly aware of the potential of research and development. As technology becomes increasingly expensive, there are advantages from friendly nations pooling their technological resources and expertise," he said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number