London police could use eagles to take down illegal drones

Curtis Moldrich Read more February 2, 2016

Drones are quickly becoming the new, highly-advanced vermin of the skies. They’re cheap, easy to get hold of and hard to police, and that means they’re an annoyance – but also a serious threat. To combat the drone problem, we’ve already seen the Tokyo police test their own drone-killing drone, and earlier this week the Dutch National Police Force announced they were trialling the use of eagles.

Now it looks like our very own Metropolitan police force is also interested in the idea. Earlier today, a spokesperson for the Met said: “As would be expected in an organisation that is transforming, we take an interest in all innovative new ideas and will of course be looking at the work of the Dutch police use of eagles.”

It’s likely that the Met will use eagles in the same was as the Dutch police force: When the situation is too difficult or complex for a Toyko style drone-chasing drone, a special-ops unit of highly trained eagles will get the job done instead.

Although it sounds crazy, it does makes sense. As you’d expect from nature’s own killing machines, the eagles come with some advantages over cumbersome drone-capturing drones. They’re able to quickly and directly capture their prey, but can also be instructed to deliver the offending drone to a safe place – far faster than a UAV could.

Still don’t believe me? Watch the video below.