Remote security gun for protecting South African businesses

South African households or businesses that wish to take more severe measures to protect their families or property can rent a remotely operated rubber bullet gun to deter would-be robbers, thieves, and other criminals.

South African company Sublethal has been offering its remote security guns since 2018, but they recently caught the attention of several social media users.

The discharging system is similar to a paintball gun and is paired with a highly manoeuvrable CCTV camera with digital crosshairs to allow for accurate intruder targeting.

The ammunition typically used is 0.68-calibre nylon balls, the same employed by police anti-riot teams, and is designed to “severely discourage” intruders but not cause serious injury.

Alternatively, pepper bullets can also be used. These explode on impact and release a powder with the same active ingredient as pepper spray, which irritates the eyes, nose, mouth, and skin.

The gun can fit up to 200 rounds, ensuring it can engage the intruder until armed response arrives at the scene.

Sublethal director Peter Rolfe told MyBroadband the system was initially designed for the defence of individuals, particularly farmers and people who are located far from help.

“Strong interest from commercial clients changed the development focus to protecting assets and many upgrades to the remote guns have optimised their utility in this task,” he said.

He said they are mostly used by commercial clients in warehouses, factories, and mines.

“A typical installation of a Sublethal Remote gun would be in the protection of assets — from new cars to cables yards to electronics,” Rolfe said.

The gun is deployed in parallel with other security solutions — including offsite CCTV monitoring, security guards, armed reaction and access control.

“By leveraging the strength of each security measure, the client can reduce their security risks while also reducing the operational costs resulting from criminal actions,” Rolfe said.

For ideal reach, each gun is placed in a position with a wide view of a large area, typically 2,000m² per gun.

Rolfe explained that the customer’s site would have a standard detection system that may include an alarm, electric fences, PIR sensors, and offsite CCTV monitoring.

“When an intruder is detected, the control room would engage the intruder with the remote gun, typically firing a warning shot,” he said.

“More hardened criminals might persist or even shoot at the remote gun, in which case the operator, who is in the safety of an offsite control room, would point and shoot the remote gun at their leisure.

Another form of ammunition is marking bullets, which spray ultra-violet powders on the target to enable more convincing evidence in court — without the potential of the intruder claiming that they were harmed.

Benefits summarised

Due to the non-lethal nature of the weapon, Rolfe said it required no licence to operate and own.

Among the biggest advantages of the system is cost savings.

Rolfe said that Sublethal’s remote guns were only available to rent and could not be bought outright.

He explained the monthly price of Sublethal’s remote guns was five to 10 times cheaper than a security guard, with the variation depending on the control room operating the gun.

“Two to four remote guns will often do the same job as a static security guard,” said Rolfe. “Some insurance companies also offer a discount to clients when Sublethal remote guns are installed.”

Rolfe added that no company expects a security guard to forfeit their life in defence of stock, which makes them of little use against violent and dangerous armed criminals.

“It is perfectly acceptable for a Remote Gun to engage violent armed criminals and be completely destroyed.”

“In fact, Sublethal does not charge to repair Remote Guns damaged by armed criminals.”