Drone, Camera and Trained Dog to Win Fight Against Terrorists

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

A new combination of a drone, thermal camera and a trained dog could serve as an efficient weapon against terrorist threats. The Israel Dog Unit (IDU, a civilian search and rescue unit) has recently acquired a drone-mounted thermal imaging camera, which will upgrade the unit’s ability to detect suspected terrorist movement in and around Jewish communities, and will significantly improve its ability to search for missing persons at night.

The video shows the IDU’s first exercise utilizing the drone, which hovers 80 yards above a dog and handler team. The team searches for a person hiding a mile from their command center in the pitch dark. The images of the dog, handler, and decoy who lies behind a tree appear in the form of light outlines showing the body heat emanating from the dog and people, according to israelnationalnews.com.

“If we are called in to search for a terrorist who has already broken through the security fence of a community, or after the terrorist has been caught on camera or some other detection apparatus, we’ll be able to send the drone up over the general area – even in the pitch dark – and locate the terrorist,” said Mike Ben Yaakov, IDU Commander.

He added: “The unique camera on the drone joins with the tracking-dog or air-scent detection dog to seek and find the terrorist. In the many massacres that were carried out by terrorists, such as those of the Salomon and Fogel families, there was early detection that alerted the military command centers, but the terrorist could not be located when the troops arrived!” The fences, sensors and cameras worked, but they could not stop the terrorist or detect where the terrorists were hiding once the troops finally arrived in the general area.

A good patrol dog could detect the suspicious movement before the terrorist passes through the fence, and then could help track the terrorist down before or after he enters a home.

“The thermal imaging camera on the drone combined with the use of a well-trained service dog makes an unbeatable combination in the war against terror and in the battle for early detection of a terrorist before he succeeds in murdering innocent men, women, and children,” concluded Ben Yaakov.