Eagles Vs. Drones: Fight In Flight

It's no secret that drones are becoming more and more ubiquitous, both from a law-enforcement perspective as well as hobbyists and aerial Peeping Toms.  But what can you do when a drone is infringing on your airspace and you don't think firing weapons or fireworks at it is a safe and/or sane option?  One word:  birds.

Uncle Sam must be very conflicted about this match-up.
(Image courtesy howstuffworks.com.)

According to Gizmodo.com, police in Holland have taken matters from a pre-technical perspective, and sicced raptors on the robots.  The Dutch national police have been training eagles to snatch drones from the sky with the ruthless efficiency that only the most ferocious feathered apex predators could manifest.

"Perfect timing, I totally needed a pedicure."
(Image courtesy pinterest.com.)

Different efforts, including nets and radio-wave guns, have also been brought into play by other nations to fell the flying spies, but eagles have a particular talent for staking out their sky-turf with no pause behind their claws.  The DJI Phantom drones that they have been chasing are so far no match for the eagles' tenacity.

SWOOP.
(Image courtesy newsdaily.com.)

YOINK!
(Image courtesy techtakyou.com.)

According to Inc.com, the idea was spawned by the startup company Guard From Above, who partnered with the Dutch police to attempt a three-month trial program of bird-craft vs. nerd-craft.  And it wasn't a hasty, bird-brained decision to try this method.  Ben de Keijzer, the co-founder and COO of Guard From Above, has been training birds for 25 years.

"Two of the most impressive characteristics of birds of prey are their speed and their power," he says of the eagles. "They are the masters of the air."

So if you've got interlopers in your restricted airspace, send up an eagle to get those damn drones to flock off.

The video is in Dutch, but "gnarly eagle attack" is universally-understood imagery.