Fight fire with fire, so they say. Clearly Tokyo officials have been listening to that advice, because their police force is launching a fleet of net-carrying drones that will locate and capture other rogue drones being flown by members of the public.
The BBC reports that the new squad of police drones will be used around “important buildings such as the prime minister’s office”. When unauthorised drones are detected, loudspeakers on the ground will be used to alert their operators that they shouldn’t be flying in the airspace. If they don’t land their drone, it will be captured by a police drone using a net — just like in the clip above.
Speaking to the Asahi Shimbun website, a police department spokesperson explained why the new squadron has been put together:
“Terrorist attacks using drones carrying explosives are a possibility. We hope to defend the nation’s functions with the worst-case scenario in mind.”
Admittedly, they may have a point. Back in April, a drone landed on the roof of the prime minister’s officers. It was carrying radioactive material.
That doesn’t stop it all seeming very, very dystopian, though.
[BBC]
GIF from Asahi Shimbun