It was cancelled after about a year. They said the technological developments of drones went faster than they could adjust the training of the birds, there were concerns about the well being of the birds but also the risks of using large predators in areas with big crowds, and there wasn’t enough control over where the drone would end up - the bird might knock it out of the sky over a crowd.
All in all it seems like the whole idea was just a bit too uncontrollable to work as a counter-terrorism measure at events, which was the goal. The eagles just added a level of uncertainty that was not worth the gains. It might work in a situation like Ukraine though, where it is a more traditional battlefield with few civilians around. On the other hand, the drones used are offen a bit bigger and more advanced than your standard DJI, and that could definitely end up hurting the birds.
thats really cool, that was 8 years ago too, anything recent with the project?
It was cancelled after about a year. They said the technological developments of drones went faster than they could adjust the training of the birds, there were concerns about the well being of the birds but also the risks of using large predators in areas with big crowds, and there wasn’t enough control over where the drone would end up - the bird might knock it out of the sky over a crowd.
All in all it seems like the whole idea was just a bit too uncontrollable to work as a counter-terrorism measure at events, which was the goal. The eagles just added a level of uncertainty that was not worth the gains. It might work in a situation like Ukraine though, where it is a more traditional battlefield with few civilians around. On the other hand, the drones used are offen a bit bigger and more advanced than your standard DJI, and that could definitely end up hurting the birds.
I can see why for both, thanks for taking the time!