Insurance agents, prepare for a new coverage need.
Drones—feared for their seeming dominion over the air and the various security nightmares they cause—now have a natural predator (of sorts): the eagle. Both drone operators and enthusiasts might want to consider insurance coverage for their costly flying equipment should this oddball safety measure gimmick actually take off.
Dutch security company Guard From Above has been training eagles specifically to snatch drones from midair. The company recently released a video demonstrating the avian predators easily grabbing the drones with nary a scratch. Guard From Above partnered with the country’s law enforcement agency to train the birds, with the hope that they would be used for actual, real-life scenarios.
UK Met Police has seen the video, and is eager to jump onto the anti-drone eagle bandwagon as well.
As efficient as the avian creatures are at taking drones, they are unsurprisingly rough with the equipment, as well.
"These birds are used to meeting resistance from animals they hunt in the wild, and they don't seem to have much trouble with the drones," said Guard From Above CEO Sjoerd Hoogendoorn.
Hoogendoorn additionally noted that eagle talons are strong enough to nab most consumer-grade drones—so powerful, that the birds end up destroying the delicate equipment.
"The real problem we have is that they destroy a lot of drones," he remarked regarding the eagles during testing. "It's a major cost of testing."
Drone enthusiasts, you have been warned. Those whose drones have been mistakenly crushed midflight by a bird of prey will wish they had insured their expensive equipment beforehand.
