Firms Partner to Target First Responder, Covert Ops, CT and LE Markets

Typhon Group in the UK has partnered with France’s Nexter Robotics to develop a distraction module for the Nerva LG range of small wheeled vehicles.

The module will incorporate Typhon’s distraction system, currently available in the company’s Zeta product. Zeta provides five “distraction events […] with minimal flash, smoke and fragmentation,” according to the company. The events are triggered by a handheld remote control device. The system is marketed as a solution for hostage-release situations and as a method of entry. The events cause a loud noise – measured at 167db, between a .357 handgun being fired and a rocket launch in terms of perceived volume – but with a heavily reduced risk of collateral damage. The product has already attracted considerable attention from the law enforcement and special operations communities as a modern effective alternative to more traditional ‘flash-bang’ devices.

The partnership will involve the companies developing a module that can mount the Typhon distraction effector on the Nexter wheeled robot. This could then be driven covertly into a deployment area – the vehicle is small, weighing around 5kg, and has a top speed of 13km/h – and the distraction events triggered remotely. The module will include two Typhon cartridges, each of which is capable of deploying five distraction events. These can be triggered individually or in series, simulating rapid weapon fire.

Typhon is planning further cartridge-based products, including kinetic payloads. The DS100 module, already available, can be mounted on unmanned aircraft.