Dutch Police Training Eagles to Tackle Drones Like Prey

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]