Dutch police train eagles to capture drones in mid-flight

Dutch police are training eagles to catch illegal drones in mid-flight.

In a video released by the corporation, an eagle advances towards a drone, grabs the device with its claws and moves on.

This is just one of the ideas being tested by the Dutch National Police. The corporation says it tries to contain the advance of the use of drones in situations of risk.

“There are situations where drones cannot fly. This almost always involves security issues, ”said Mark Wiebe, innovation manager for the Dutch police national unit.

“There may be a situation where a medical support helicopter cannot land because someone is operating a drone nearby. People may also want to take beautiful pictures of an event and fly over the crowd, but if a drone falls from above it can be dangerous for people, ”he added.

The police worked with the specialized company Guard From Above to train the eagles. Birds of prey are conditioned to treat drones as a potential meal.

“The bird sees the drone as prey and takes the device to a safe area, out of the reach of other birds or humans,” the Dutch police said in a statement.

Naturally, chances are that eagles will get hurt when grabbing a drone. Therefore, the police evaluate the use of some protection for birds.

The popularization of drones has also raised the risk of collisions with aircraft. There was also a recent warning about terrorist use of the equipment.

In a few months the Dutch police hope to have a decision on the appropriateness of using birds of prey to intercept illegal drones.

Source: BCCBRASIL