Air force eagles down drones

They have proved lethally effective with a 90% success rate and four – named D’Artagnan, Aramis, Athos and Porthos – are being trained. In a test for journalists, a 5kg eagle launched from an aerodrome control tower tackled a mini-drone about 200m away... and smashed it to the ground, hitting with a force of 250kg/cm2.

However, the Armée de l’Air says while the eagles can target minidrones they are working on other weapons such as water cannons, signal jammers and special radar against larger models.

The SGDSN security agency is also looking at new laws to control drone use – with the possibility of radio identification equipment in each one and even a numberplate.