Birds of prey in the Netherlands will be trained to hunt down and take out enemy unmanned flying devices, police announced. The authorities released video of a successful demonstration from Friday, saying a final decision on continuing the program will be made over the next few months.
Nobody else in the world has undertaken a similar project, police said. They are working with raptor training company Guard From Above, based in Den Haag.
The concern is the increasing use of drones, particularly for criminal purposes. Dutch security services are also concerned about the prospect of drones being used to carry out terrorist attacks with bombs, biological and chemical weapons, broadcaster NOS reported
The birds of prey are trained to capture a drone and bring it to the ground in an unpopulated area where it will not harm people and other birds, Wiebe said.
Source: NL Times
This was also done at US Air Force Academy under their Falcon program with promising results.
I would hate to be your insurer when your bird attacks a kid at a park legally flying a toy drone.
I don’t know if this is the dumbest idea yet, but it is certainly in the competition.