“Last year, the Israeli Air Force spent about 4.5 million shekels to repair and replace bird-damaged engines. Engine failure could even result in an airplane crash, putting the pilots’ lives at risk.”
Dr. Nir Sapir’s lab team, including doctoral student Inbal Schekler who heads the project, is using three different kinds of radar to look at patterns of flocks of birds, to quantify and map the migrations, and to determine which meteorological factors, such as wind and temperature, affect bird whereabouts. They are working with the Air Force to provide them with a quantitative assessment of the risk of collision.