WHERE EAGLES DARE

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Suzuki Johnny
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WHERE EAGLES DARE

Post by Suzuki Johnny »

Where Eagles Dare
French military uses winged warriors to hunt down rogue drones.

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A golden eagle grabs a flying drone during a military training exercise at Mont-de-Marsan French Air Force base, Southwestern France.

Following incidents of drones flying over the presidential palace and restricted military sites – along with the deadly 2015 Paris terror attacks – the French Air Force has trained four golden eagles to intercept and destroy the rogue aircraft.

Aptly named d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis – an homage to Alexandre Dumas “The Three Musketeers” – the four birds of prey have been honing their attack skills at the Mont-de-Marsan in southwestern France since mid-2016.

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A drone means food for these birds,” Gerald Machoukow, the military base's falconer, told FRANCE 24. “Now they automatically go after them.”

The use of hunting birds – normally falcons and northern goshawks – by militaries around the globe is common practice in the fight to scare other critters away from runways and so cut the risk of accidents during takeoff or landing. But it wasn’t until 2015 when the Dutch started using bald eagles to intercept drones that other militaries started to see the benefit of these winged warriors.

The French bred the four golden eagles – three males and one female – using artificial insemination since eagles are a protected species and harvesting wild eggs is strictly forbidden. They chose the golden eagle because of the birds hooked beak and sharp eyesight.

Also weighing in around 11 pounds, the birds are in a similar weight class as the drones they’re sent to destroy and clocking in at a top air speed of 50 miles per hour, with the capability of spotting its target from over a mile away, the eagles are deft hunters. To protect the eagles from drone blades and any explosive device that might be attached to them, the French military designed mittens of leather and Kevlar (an anti-blast material), to protect the bird’s talons.

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A golden eagle carries a flying drone (2017). "I love these birds," Machoukow told Agence France-Presse. "I don't want to send them to their death."

The birds are first taught to attack in a straight line before graduating to diving from heights. Soon they’ll be patrolling the skies over the Pyrenees Mountains in southern France and could possibly be deployed at airports and special events, such as political summits and soccer tournaments. The French air force already expects four more eagles to join the fleet.
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Re: WHERE EAGLES DARE

Post by Forge »

Cool concept.
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Re: WHERE EAGLES DARE

Post by HARRIS »

WEARING MOTORCYCLE GEAR TOO ....AGATT !
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Re: WHERE EAGLES DARE

Post by RoadKing »

A thing of beauty to watch a human handler bond, train, and work with God’s creatures. Amazing. Great thread, thanx.
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Suzuki Johnny
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Re: WHERE EAGLES DARE

Post by Suzuki Johnny »

That handler must work out all the time.....try holding up 11 pounds of pure energy with arms extended like she does... [emoji106]
duc, sequere, aut de via decede
"frapper fort, frapper vite, frappée souvent-- Adm William "Bull" Halsey
“We’re not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we’re going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks.”--Gen George Patton
"Our Liberty is insured by four "Boxes", the Ballot box, the Jury box, the Soap box and the Cartridge box"

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Re: WHERE EAGLES DARE

Post by JFL Live »

One of my favorite movies...


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Re: WHERE EAGLES DARE

Post by Tbeck »

They'll be needing a lot more bird's.

For those who don't keep up with Intel matters, ISIL has been using drone's in Syria and Iraq for more than a year. Just a matter of time before the west see's an attack which utilizes drone's.

Just one more reason to ban them

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Re: WHERE EAGLES DARE

Post by Designer »

Suzuki Johnny wrote:That handler must work out all the time.....try holding up 11 pounds of pure energy with arms extended like she does... [emoji106]
My Buddy is deep into falconry and the several friends he has who have Eagles use a diagonal Arm Brace from Hip to about the Elbow.

If you have ever experienced one of these Birds up close,....you cannot but help but be thoroughly impressed. They have a Unspoken Power and Majesty that you can feel as much as see. ;)
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