Dutch police training birds of prey to take down aircraft in mid-air

But the Dutch National Police is taking a less technological approach to enforcing drone laws.

A video reveals it is training eagles to catch the menacing machines in mid-air, taking them down in one fell swoop. 

Mark Wiebe, innovation manager of the National Unit of the police, said drone use is becoming more common, with people using them to take photographs, for example. 

But they can be dangerous if they fall from the sky above crowds of people. Drones with built-in cameras also pose privacy risks.

'There are situations in which drones are not allowed to fly. This has almost always to do with security,' he added.

To intercept rogue drones, the police force has teamed up with Guard From Above - a bird of prey training company in Denmark - to test the raptors' intelligence and accuracy.

The eagles are being trained to identify and catch quadcopters, which are proving increasingly popular.

This behaviour has been seen unprompted in the wild, with eagles bringing down a quadcopter in Austria last year, and the team has found the birds instinctively look for somewhere to land away from humans. 

Mr Wiebe explained: 'The bird sees the drone as prey and takes it to a safe area, a place where he does not suffer from other birds or humans. 

'We use [this instinct] in this project.'

In the tests, the birds are rewarded with a tasty titbit for bringing down a drone, reinforcing their desire to do so again.

There are concerns that despite the birds' natural drone-catching abilities, they could be harmed by a device's rapid rotors.

To allay this concern, there is a change the eagles could wear armour while patrolling the skies for drones,  IEEE's Spectrum reported.

The tests are expected to last a few months, after which the experts will decide if birds of prey are the best weapon for tackling pesky drones.

Last month, engineers at Michigan Technological University shared images of a Robotic Falcon firing a net at a target drone, allowing it to fly away with the drone to a safe location. 

The device, which can be autonomous or controlled by someone on the ground, chases the rogue drone and fires a net at it from a distance of up to 40ft (12 metres) away.

As the net is so big and can be deployed so quickly, it can overwhelm even the fastest, most manoeuverable small drone.

Tests of the device show once it is trapped, the offending drone can then be carried away by the catcher to a safe location.

Dr Rastgaar said: 'It gets really entangled. It's not going anywhere.

'What makes this unique is that the net is attached to our catcher, so you can retrieve the rogue drone or drop it in a designated, secure area. It's like robotic falconry.'

He and his team has now filed for a patent on the system.

In recent years, drones have sparked alerts flying over public buildings and secure areas. Last year a man was tackled to the ground after flying a quadcopter over the White House.

Drones have also triggered alerts at airports around the world after being flown into restricted airspace.

Paris was placed on alert last February after five drones were spotted flying around city landmarks including the Eiffel Tower.

Snipers were also placed on standby to shoot down drones being flown over the crowds at the recent World Cup in Brazil.

Many companies have additionally been developing systems to shoot down or jam the radio signals controlling drones in an attempt to tackle the threat they pose.

For example, Airbus recently revealed a 'drone killer' system that can automatically monitor an area - and disable the drone by jamming its signals if it spots one.

The system can even analyse signals from the drone to work out exactly where it is being controlled from. 

The system combines sensor data from different sources with latest data fusion, signal analysis and jamming technologies.

It uses operational radars, infrared cameras and direction finders from Airbus Defence and Space's portfolio to identify the drone and assess its threat potential at ranges between 5 and 10 Kilometers.

A jammer then interrupts the link between drone and pilot and/or its navigation, and allows their position to be calculated. 

(www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3426614/Eagle-versus-drone-Video-shows-Dutch-police-training-birds-prey-aircraft-mid-air.html#ixzz3z5RvXNg7)