'Star Trek' weapon may be a reality
   -----------------------------------
   BY KEN de la BASTIDE

   "Set  phasers on stun" is a familiar line to any Star Trek fan. Almost
   four  decades later an Anderson company is bringing science fiction to
   reality.

   Xtreme   Alternative  Defense  Systems  (XADS)  received  $950,000  in
   government  grants to develop a directed energy weapon for use in riot
   control and other situations requiring less than lethal force.

   XADS  is  developing  the StunStrike, which can temporarily disable an
   enemy  combatant  without  any  form  of  projectile or other means of
   direct contact.

   The company is also one of 10 finalists for a $10,000 grant as part of
   the  Flagship  Enterprise  Center's  Business  Plan contest. The three
   winners will be announced April 15.

   Unlike  the  Taser  device, which propels darts into a person and then
   transmits   an  electrical  current  through  wires,  StunStrike  will
   discharge an energy field directly at a target.

   "This  gives the military, police forces or private security companies
   enormous  flexibility,"  said  Pete  Bitar,  the weapon's inventor and
   president  of  XADS.  "It  could  dramatically alter the nature of law
   enforcement,   war,   peacekeeping   operations  and  other  conflicts
   requiring the deployment and use of physical force."

   The  company  has  a  $750,000  contract with the U.S. Marine Corps to
   develop  several  prototypes. It also received $200,000 from the Small
   Business  Innovation  Research  Program  and  Indiana's  21st  Century
   Research and Technology Fund.

   Bitar  said  he  hopes  to employ 100 people by 2006 and, depending on
   orders, that number could climb to 300 or 400 people.

   "There are large defense contractors interested in the technology," he
   said.  "I'm  hoping  with  the  facilities  available in Anderson, the
   electrical  engineers  and experienced workforce that they will locate
   in the city."

   Bitar  said  he first had the idea in 1991 and submitted a proposal to
   the military in 1998.

   "I  received  a  request  for  proposal because the military was after
   something  that  was  similar  to my idea," he said. "The military has
   helped me refine my proposal."

   The company is gearing up for the third phase of the project.

   Three  products are being explored -- vehicle-mounted medium and short
   range  weapons and a close-quarters weapon. Bitar said the close range
   weapon  would  immobilize  a  person  up to a range of eight feet, the
   short  range  StunStrike  could  be  used up to 20 feet and the medium
   range weapon in a larger area.

   Bitar said the close quarter StunStrike would be handheld.

   He hopes the close quarter weapon can go into production by the end of
   the year. Bitar said two prototypes are almost completed.

   "We're  growing  as  we  can,"  he  said.  "We're  hoping  to  have  a
   demonstration of the product this summer."

   Variations  of  the  StunStrike  could be used for cockpit security on
   airplanes, around U.S. embassies and to immobilize vehicles.

   "The  Marine  Corps  continues  to  look  to  the  future  for new and
   innovative   ideas,"  said  George  Gibbs,  force  protection  systems
   director for the Marines. "The phaser (on stun) was certainly invented
   by the Star Trek series, but SunStrike invented by XADS is the closest
   thing  there is to bringing that fiction to reality. Once proven, this
   will be a tremendous asset for the Department of Defense."