An interdiction drive, also known as a warp field disruptor, is an installed unit of ship-mounted technology that projects a spatial field that disrupts the warp field of other ships generated by their warp drives. It does this by utilizing the same technology that warp drives use, but instead projecting a spatial field ahead of the ship that counteracts the warp field of a targeted ship, forcing it out of warp if kept on them for long enough. Interdiction drives are used on other ships when they must make close contact, because it is a very difficult to match the velocity and trajectory of another ship while both of you are in warp.
To use an interdiction drive, fuel is pumped into it much like a warp drive. The pilot must then move behind the ship they are interdicting; ship computers will automatically attempt to project the counter-field onto the targeted ship, and all the pilot must do is maintain a consistent vector on the target. The counter-fields produced by an interdiction drive take time to work however, depending on the power of the target's warp field; if the classes of the two ships are the same, it will take around 10 seconds to complete an interdiction, but shorter if the target is of a smaller class, or longer if the target is of a larger class. It is nearly impossible for smaller corvette or subcorvettes to interdict a frigate or larger due to the sheer power of their warp drives, but it is possible with another larger ship or multiple smaller ships. In the time that the interdiction takes to complete, the target can attempt to maneuver out of your targeting vector to try and stop the interdiction. When the interdiction completes, the target is completely pulled out of warp, and you will likely do the same in order to interact with them. It can take some time for a warp drive to recharge after it is interdicted, making being interdicted rather dangerous. Interdiction drives have a range of around a hundred to a few hundred meters depending on the class of the ship.
Most modern ships are able to easily detect when they are being interdicted, and will display an appropriate interdiction alert as well as the integrity of the ship's warp field.
Interdiction drives are commonly used by pirates in order to attempt to plunder cargo from a ship after interdicting them; they may use a ship-mounted ENDI scanner to scan the ship's cargo and demand some goods, or simply blast them apart. Interdiction drives are also used by the navy of certain nations in order to interdict ships passing through hyperlanes into their territory, such as to scan their cargo for contraband or to check any paperwork they may need.
Interdiction drives are usually illegal in most civilized jurisdictions, as they are almost exclusively used by pirates when not being used by navies or police forces. Many nations require licenses to possess and use them for those that require them for their work, such as bounty hunters or PMCs.