Dutch police training eagles to bring down drones
03 Feb 2016
Dutch police are involved in training birds of prey, like eagles, to take out drones flown by criminals and terrorists.
The police, counter-terrorism agency NCTB and the ministries of justice and defence are working on a range of measures to combat drones.
Video footage released by the police at the weekend shows an eagle grabbing a drone in its talons and bringing it to the ground. The project is still in test phase but a spokesman said there was a ''very real possibility'' that birds of prey could be used.
''The bird sees the drone as prey and takes it to a safe place, a place where there are no other birds or people,' project spokesman Marc Wiebes said. 'That is what we are making use of in this project.'
'''Everyone can get hold of a drone, and that includes people who want to misuse them,'' police spokesman Michel Baeten told Nos TV. 'It is a multifunctional piece of equipment and that means you can launch an attack with them as well.'
As well as raptors, officials are also looking into the use of high-tech detection systems and equipment which can remotely take over control of a drone. Another potential measure could be a drone which is programmed to fire at or capture an enemy drone.
A decision on whether or not to use eagles to take out drones will be made in a couple of months.
