Drones are great, but they also pose a huge threat to general safety and national security if in the hands of the wrong people. The Secret Service has even said they don't yet have an effective method of defending against drones, although they recently began testing drone flights in their own backyard to defend against them. While some turn to strictly technological methods of bringing drones to the ground, the Dutch police are evaluating the effectiveness of a new program that trains eagles to grab drones from the sky with their talons.
Of course, to a large extent, eagles were made for this. They hunt everything from smaller birds that they can catch mid-air to small mountain goats that they kill by swooping down on them, grabbing them, and throwing them off the mountain into the valley below (quite effective, if vicious, in fact). So it's no wonder this was an eventual possibility.
One issue with combating unauthorized or illegal drone activity is to properly identify it and effect only that one device. Radio jammers can jam other important signals in the area. Other methods are equally too broad to apply realistically. But perhaps by combining proper training with the mind of an animal, the Dutch could finally be on to something that could prove surprisingly useful. It may not be too long before your drone is taken down by an American eagle if flying in a no-fly zone.
Whether or not drone rotors pose a health risk to the eagles is still unclear. But it's clear the Dutch will be the first to find out. So far, the eagle working for the Dutch in this video doesn't seem to be having any hint of an issue.
[Via Gizmodo via Netherlands National Police]
I think you should write them a very strongly worded letter.
Can you imagine how upset the French must be because last week I ate 1/2 of their national bird...
Mate, get a grip.. Just trolling.
Lol, the patriotism is strong in this one. Do not hate USA. Just been to NYC last month and I have a lot of family there. Love it. All this over a bird haha
I'm sorry but you think eagles are only indigenous to north america? There are 60 species of eagles in the world.
The eagle they are using looks like it might be a golden eagle and that type of eagle is found North America, parts of Europe, Africa and Asia.
Next is that the american symbol is the BALD EAGLE ... the bird in that video is obviously not a bald eagle oh and the bald eagle also exists in Canada BTW.
Finally tons of countries use the eagle in they heraldry ...
Albania, Armenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany ... in total about 25 or 30 countries use eagles as their symbol.
It is a Bald Eagle...Juvenile. Not a Golden for sure.
Is it? The plumage and beak don't look right from the video for a bald eagle but then again I'm not an ornithologist so what do I know.
That being said, apparently they are also using other types of raptors other than eagles.
Ya, Balds look dirty for quite some time before adulthood. Trained a couple myself. Cool stuff, Not sure about the feet issue and rotors...kinda scary. Biggest issue I see is that birds are all "carrying" the drones pretty badly. Notice they are indoors. Bad news if you as a trainer don't sort out carrying. I hope their telemetry is dialed in.
It totally bothers me. Never mind our homeless. Never mind all the children in this rich nation that go to school hungry each day. Never mind the billions and billions pissed away in the "War on drugs" that is just a waste of our tax dollars. Never mind the other billions we spent protecting our right to cheap crude. Fuck all that. Who the hell let an eagle out of the country?
And if being patriotic means getting upset over something as trivial as this, I'll keep flying the Jolly Roger on July 4th.
In this case, assuming too much has made an ass out of you.
@Peter Miller - Good thing they're not. But as an American, your ignorance is almost painful.
I think he refers to the fact that:
A- That is a golden eagle and not a bald eagle.
B- You think eagles only exist in the US and so need to be exported.
"Makes me wonder why they birds are being allowed out of the country to be used in such a manner. I can understand exportation for zoos but this is ridiculous."
The golden eagle is found in LOTS of places in the world: Asia, Europe, Africa, North America (including Canada) and there are over 60 species of eagles around the world.
C- The US is the only country to use eagles as their symbol.
The Eagle was used as a national symbol by many other countries long before the US ... Austria for example (Black eagle), Mexico (Golden Eagle), Poland (white Eagle).
So you are either ignorant or a troll.
Bald Eagle...Juvenile. No Golden Eagles in that Video.
Let's see how long it takes before a bird gets a foot chopped off.....
As they are saying in this video, the claws of an eagle have a really strong armor to protect them from the rotators. So these small drones don't have any effect on them, and they're looking into how to protect the birds even more.
Would love to see that eagle take down an Inspire 1.
Ha! That's exactly what I was going post jokingly. The props on the inspire would stop if it hit the bird though. That feature was added in a few firmwares back.
Amazing animals. Sadly tho if this becomes a popular method of drone umm...retrieval no doubt we'll see the unscrupulous drone pilots modifying their machines to injure the birds deliberately.
This is excellent news. Drones need to be stopped by all means necessary.