Dutch Police Use An Eagle To Down Drones

Back in December, we talked about the Tokyo police and their new drone catching drone. The Japanese drone used a net to fly up and capture rogue drones. The Dutch police have upped the cool factor for catching rogue drones by training an eagle to capture drones from the sky.

The Dutch police are also considering the use of nets, but we certainly hope the use of eagles catches on. Dutch police are working with a company called Guard from Above, which is a raptor training firm in Denmark. The police hope to determine if trained Eagles could be used as an intelligent system to help with the potential drone problem.

The eagles apparently are able to instinctively grab the offending drones out of the sky and automatically take them to a safe area away from people. The Eagle handlers then trade the drones for a treat that the eagles can eat.

The big question that many are thinking is how safe is it for eagles to be snatching drones out of the air. Those fast spinning propellers would seem to be able to damage the legs and talons of the bird. Testing will last a few months and then the Dutch police will decide if they will continue to use eagles to combat unwanted drones.

SOURCE: Spectrum