Birds of prey are being trained to prevent terror attacks in France, after being recruited by the country’s air force.
A team of four eagles is being trained to bring down remote-controlled drones when they stray into unauthorised airspace.
It is feared that terror groups could use drones – types of which can be bought from toy stores – packed with explosives to target civilians or military landmarks.
Experts believe training eagles to deal with threatening drones is far safer than using bullets to shoot them down.
Air force general Jean-Christophe Zimmerman told Reuters: “These eagles can spot the drones several thousand metres away and neutralise them.”
He said the idea came from police trials in the Netherlands.
Drones have been branded a “credible threat” by security experts in France, and prompted alarm when they were flown over the Elysée Palace and other Paris landmarks two years ago.
A military source also told The Telegraph: “We taught them to feed off the ‘carcasses’ of the drones.
“Now, when they see one of these craft, they think it has food coming off it and they intercept it. We’re teaching them not just to attack but to detect them.”
Eagles have a grip 10 times more powerful than a human, making them ideal to deal with large unmanned drones.
An eagle catching a drone during training. 