Notice they use the words “renegade” and “law-breaking” in reference to the “types” of drones targeted. One can assume with laws in America becoming more and more restrictive concerning drones, we may be seeing trained Eagles in the skies in the U.S very soon. -SF
As quadcopters and other remote controlled flying devices becomes more popular—and laws against them become more restrictive—law enforcement is left with the challenge of taking increasingly large numbers of law-breaking drones out of the sky. Some agencies opt for anti-drone drones. The military can usually just shoot ’em down. But the Dutch have an clever solution: trained eagles.
The Dutch National Police force, along with a bird-of-prey training company called Guard From Above, have taught at least one eagle to recognize a DJI drone and—when commanded—how to grab it out of the air.
It might sound a little weird at first, but this tactic makes all kinds of sense. Eagles and other large birds of prey already go after drones in the wild, so it’s not outside their skill set. Also, when law enforcement goes after a drone they can’t just shoot it down and let it drop out of the sky lest it cause property damage or hit a bystander. Tokyo police are dealing with this by using a net-carrying drone, but an eagle is a pretty elegant solution. It’s not like raptors are in the habit of letting their prey drop after all.
There are, of course, all kinds of added complications when it comes to working with live, trained animals, and so the Dutch National Police force is also working on a net-based solution. But even if that winds up being more efficient, it will never be even half as cool.
Read the Original Article at Popular Mechanics