Putin scientists unveil ‘spy pigeons fitted with brain implants and cameras that can be controlled like drones’

Russia is pioneering remote-controlled spy pigeons equipped with brain implants.

A state-run Moscow neurotechnology firm boasts that its operators can direct swarms of flying insects across the sky at will.

Researchers have begun field testing of ‘avian biodrones’, known as PJN-1, which are ordinary pigeons surgically implanted with neural chips that allow technicians to direct their flight paths.

Birds can be guided remotely in real time; Operators can upload flight commands by stimulating targeted areas of the brain.

Sources at Neiry, who has deep ties to the Kremlin’s high-tech innovation machine, claim the pigeon then ‘believed it wanted to fly’ in the direction instructed.

Surgery is performed in which electrodes are placed in the brain with millimetric precision.

The birds wear small solar-powered backpacks with built-in electronic devices, GPS tracking and a receiver that transmits signals to a neural implant.

Chillingly, Neiry insists that “no training is required” and declares that any animal becomes “remote controllable after operation” – pigeons can travel 310 miles a day, or more than 2,850 miles a week.

Insisting that “no training is required,” Neiry explained that any animal “can be controlled remotely after surgery.”

“Currently the solution works on pigeons, but any bird can be used as a carrier,” said Alexander Panov, the company’s founder.

‘We plan to use ravens to carry heavier loads, seagulls for coastal monitoring and albatrosses for large sea areas.’

Although the company claimed it was ‘striving for a 100 per cent survival rate’, it did not disclose how many birds died during or after the invasive procedure.

The swarm guidance technology, which the company says could be used to ‘monitor and protect sensitive facilities’, could be transferred to military or intelligence applications.

Pigeons are already a mainstay of Russian urban life, and their ability to adapt to civilian environments could make them ideal for covert surveillance, but mounted spy cameras could also be used in war zones such as Ukraine, for example.

“Pigeon-biodrone PJN-1 differs from an ordinary bird only with the neuro-interface wire coming out of its head and the small backpack containing electronic items,” the company said.

‘Its main purpose is to provide almost any type of monitoring (e.g. environmental or industrial) to conduct search and rescue operations and to serve as an additional layer of security.’

The company says ‘biodrones’ are Neiry’s ‘new product’.

Researchers begin field tests of so-called ‘avian biodrones’ known as PJN-1

Birds can be guided remotely in real time, as operators can upload flight commands by stimulating targeted areas of the brain.

‘Scientists and engineers began using live birds with chips in their brains instead of a flying machine.

‘Thanks to the neurochip, the operator of the biodrone can control the bird by assigning it a flight mission, as in an ordinary UAV.

‘The important difference between a biodrone and a trained animal is that no training is required.

‘Any animal becomes remotely controllable after surgery.

‘Thanks to neuro-stimulation of certain areas of the brain, the bird itself ‘wants’ to move in the desired direction.’

The attached electronics are powered by solar panels located on the pigeon’s back.

‘The risk of the biodrone falling or crashing is low and equal to the natural probability of a bird falling from the sky. Therefore, biodrones can be used safely in cities.’

The pigeon’s brain contains electrodes connected to a stimulator and located in a backpack on the bird’s back.

‘The stimulus sends impulses that influence the bird’s motivation to turn left or right, for example. System positioning is accomplished using GPS and other methods.’

The company had already faced criticism for tampering with cow brains to increase milk yield.

Neiry received funding from National Technology Initiative (NTI) programs and investment structures affiliated with RDIF, the Kremlin’s dominant wealth arm and headed by Putin’s close friend Kirill Dmitriev, who is currently assigned as a negotiator with the United States on peace moves in Ukraine.

He is also a resident of Skolkovo, the government-backed tech cluster long considered Moscow’s Silicon Valley.

The bird spies’ tactic is similar to Russia’s training of war dolphins.

Pictures show dolphins trained to patrol the seas, destroy underwater saboteurs or plant limpet mines, or for reconnaissance purposes.

The mammals were taught to alert human controllers or launch lethal attacks with underwater weapons, a warfare program that began in Soviet times.