Eagle vs Drone

Gary Mortimer

Researchers from RMIT UAS Research Team in Australia have encountered a wedge tailed eagle that managed to successfully clear the airspace it uses! I’ve seen UAS attacked by birds of prey before had it happen to me. I have never seen one carried off.

The team are flight testing a small prototype system capable of ‘surfing’ updrafts around large buildings. The prototype system is called the RMIT Kestrel. The glider in the video is an Alula being used for data collection.

The six month research project brings together leading research into the modelling and analysis of airflows around structures with advanced sensing, and guidance algorithms.

The project is led by Prof Simon Watkins, Dr Reece Clothier, Dr Jennifer Palmer (DSTO), Dr Alex Fisher, Dr Matt Marino, and supported by Mr Abdulghani Mohamed, Ms Kiros Lim, Mr Chung Leung, Mr Liam Peters, and Mr Sam Prudden.