Merkel's cabinet sets rules for private use of drones
January 18, 2017
Chancellor Merkel's cabinet has endorsed a set of rules for the private use of drones, including mandatory licenses and identification for those of a certain weight. The federal assembly is to vote on the proposal.
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The federal cabinet has endorsed a new set of rules for the ownership and use of drones. The aim is to avoid accidents and protect citizens' privacy.
In 2016, there were an estimated 400,000 drones in Germany. Germany's air traffic control authority, the DFS, has warned that drones could endanger airplane and helicopter traffic. It registered 64 sightings of drones dangerously close to air vehicles - five times as many as in the previous year. There are also concerns that a drone plummeting from the sky could hit and hurt or even kill a person on the ground.
French army grooms eagles to down drones
Faced with the risk of drones being used to snoop, or carry out attacks on French soil, the air force is showing its claws, training fearsome golden eagles to take out unmanned aircraft in mid-flight.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
D'Artagnan attacks the enemy
Since mid-2016, d'Artagnan has been trained to target potential aerial threats. The other trained birds at the Mont-de-Marsan airbase are called Athos, Porthos and Aramis, all characters from Alexandre Dumas', "The Three Musketeers."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
French air force is showing its claws
Some 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Bordeaux, Mont-de-Marsan is one of five air bases in France that uses falconry. Usually, the birds of prey are kept to scare other birds away from the runway. This reduces the risk of accidents during takeoff or landing. But with France on high alert since January 2015, after a string of terrorist attacks, they have now been appointed drone hunters.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
Mission accomplished for d'Artagnan
Within 20 seconds the raptor has the drone between its talons. It pins it to the ground and covers it with its broad wings. Police in the Netherlands were the first to come up with the idea of using raptors to catch drones, introducing bald eagles into the service in late 2015.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
Meat served on a drone
Eagles are fast, reaching speeds of up to 80 km (50 miles) per hour. Hatched in captivity, the four "musketeers" were served food atop wrecked drones from the age of three weeks. This taught the birds to seize remotely piloted aircraft for food. Now, when they hear a buzzing drone, their hunting instinct kicks in. Their falconer rewards successful interceptions with a hunk of meat.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
Drone hunting
The French army followed suit last year, but opted for the golden eagle. These birds are natural-born killers with hooked beaks, amber eyes and a wingspan of up to 2.2 meters (seven feet). Like all birds of prey, the golden eagle has excellent eyesight and is capable of spotting its target from two kilometers away.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
Unusual prey
The golden eagle has powerful feet, that are feathered all the way to the toes and large, sharp talons to snatch up a variety of prey. This is usually rabbits, squirrels or hares. But in Mont-de Marsan they go for drones.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
The Army cares for its comrades
To prevent the birds from harming themselves, the military has designed mittens made of leather and Kevlar, an anti-blast material, to protect their talons. "I love these birds," their falconer says. "I don't want to send them to their deaths." The falconer cautions against setting "impossible" tasks for birds, such as launching them against larger drones with potentially deadly propellers.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
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The proposed measures include making licenses mandatory for the use of drones of a certain weight class. Operators would have to either pass a test on the use of drones or hold a pilot's license and be at least 16 years of age in order to fly drones which weigh more than two kilos (4.4 pounds.)
For heavier drones, of five kilos or more, or the use of drones at night, a permit from an official governmental agency would have to be obtained. Aviation clubs would be exempt from these rules.
In addition, the federal traffic ministry has proposed mandatory labeling and stricter rules on where drones can be flown in Germany. Drones of a quarter of a kilo or more would be required to bear the name and address of their owner to ensure accountability.
'Clear rules' necessary
There would also be a ban on flying drones above residential homes without the owner or resident's explicit consent. Their use would also be prohibited in nature preserves, jails, industrial plants, crowds of people and places where police or firefighters were at work. They would also be limited to flying at no more than 100 meters above the ground.
The private use of drones is already banned in and around airports.
Federal traffic minister Alexander Dobrindt said that "clear rules" were necessary, given that "the danger of collisions, crashes and accidents" was on the rise as Germans increasingly used the unmanned aerial vehicles.
The German federal assembly will now have to vote on whether the proposed rules will become law.