Belgian arms producer develops 'smart gun'

Belgian arms producer develops 'smart gun'



BY REUTERS


[Brussels, Belgium Reuters News Service, 5 June 2002] - A Belgian company has made a prototype of a "smart gun" that can only be used by its owner, developed under contract with the US government to make it harder for criminals to use stolen weapons.

"The idea is to make a gun fire when the owner wants it to and not to when the owner does not want to," said Robert Sauvage, a spokesman for FN Herstal, which has received about $20 million from the US Department of Justice.

Gun control is a hot issue in the US, where about 30 000 people die every year from gun-related injuries.

A 1994 FBI study showed one in six police officers who died in the line of duty were killed with their own gun after being disarmed by a suspect.

Sauvage said the system now being tested uses an electronic recognition device attached to the owner, which the gun would be able to recognise. He said production could start in three years.

The "smart gun" technology could have wider uses than in policing, such as gun control at shooting galleries or to reduce hunting accidents.

"A weapon could for example be programmed to shoot on a Saturday morning between 10 and 12am in the hands of Mr X at the shooting gallery of Herstal in the east-west direction," Sauvage said.

FN Herstal is based in the southern Belgian town of Herstal, near Liege, and has branches in several countries, including FN Manufacturing in the United States.

The Belgian arms producer acknowledges that many commercial and legal problems still need to be addressed, including the extra cost of the new weapons system. The cost of such a weapon may be about 20% more than conventional guns.