The Military Is Using Falcons to Build a Drone Killer
A raptor’s approach to targeting prey may one day help protect soldiers and even airports, Air Force-funded research shows.
Photographer: Georges Gobet/AFP via Getty Images
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Throughout history, humans have employed falcons as lethal hunters of other animals. Now those raptors are being sent after drones.
It turns out that many of the skills feathered predators use to find a tasty lunch can be applied to the developing field of drone defense. A U.S. Air Force-funded study by zoology researchers at Oxford University suggests that the means by which a peregrine falcon tracks its quarry could be effective in defending against drones that threaten troops, police or airports.