Feathered fighters form new front in drone war

France enlists eagles in battle against potential terror attacks

Faced with the risk of drones being used to snoop or carry out attacks on French soil, the air force is showing its claws.

At Mont-de-Marsan in southwestern France a quartet of fearsome golden eagles is being trained to take out unmanned aircraft in midflight.

The roar of a departing Rafale fighter jet gives way to the buzz of a drone lifting into the air on a runway at the air base, some 130 kilometers south of Bordeaux.

Suddenly, a squawk fills the air as an eagle bears down at breakneck speed from a control tower 200 meters away.

In about 20 seconds the raptor has the drone between its talons, then pins it to the ground and covers it with its broad brown wings.

The drone has been destroyed. Mission accomplished for D'Artagnan.

The valiant bird is one of four feathered fighters - along with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, all characters in French novelist Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers - being put through their paces since mid-2016.

Mont-de-Marsan is one of five air bases in France to boast a falconry.

Usually, the birds of prey - generally falcons or northern goshawks - are kept to scare birds away from the runway to reduce the risk of accidents during takeoff or landing.

But with France on high alert after a string of jihadist assaults since January 2015, they are now sinking their beaks into national security.

"The results are encouraging. The eagles are making good progress," said Commander Christophe, who heads the air safety squadron.

Like all French military personnel, he offers only his first name and rank to journalists.

Police in The Netherlands were the first to come up with the idea of using raptors to intercept drones, inducting bald eagles in late 2015.

The French army followed last year, but it opted for the golden eagle, which has a wingspan of up to 2.2 meters.

Like all birds of prey, the golden eagle has excellent eyesight, capable of spotting its target from 2 kilometers away.

At between 3 and 5 kilograms, it also happens to weigh about the same as most of the drones that could be used for nefarious purposes - or that simply go astray.

And an eagle is devastatingly fast, clocking 80 km/h as it swoops in for the kill.

Hatched in captivity, the four "musketeers" had their food served atop wrecked drones from the age of 3 weeks.

The birds very quickly began to seize remotely piloted aircraft for food so when drones buzz above, their hunting instinct kicks in, with falconer Gerald Machoukow rewarding every successful interception with a hunk of meat.

To prevent the birds from harm, the military is designing mittens of leather and Kevlar, an anti-blast material, to protect their talons.

"I love these birds," Machoukow said. "I don't want to send them to their death."

The air force is already smitten enough to have ordered a second brood of eaglets.

Mont-de-Marsan expects to welcome four more feathered aviators by the summer.