France is ready to deploy unarmed surveillance drones to spy on al Qaeda militants in Mali, and the flying robots will be American.
France in July purchased 12 MQ-9 Reaper drones, built by American company General Atomics, for $874 million. Now, the first two drones, which will be unarmed, are ready to take off in Mali, as first reported by Reuters.
The country will use its new American spy drones, which will replace its current EADS Harfang, to drive out al Qaeda from Mali, but the drones won't be equipped with Hellfire missiles, at least for now.
"We have led successful counter-terrorism attacks in recent days and we will continue to act to eliminate all traces of al Qaeda," French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said, according to Reuters. "Two drones that we have bought will be operational by the end of the year in Africa, in the Sahel. That is their main mission."
The U.S. military in July operated two MQ-9 Reaper drones in Mali, sending French commanders streamed surveillance video. In January, France launched a military intervention in Mali to fight al Qaeda-linked rebels who had taken the northern part of the country after a coup in the previous months.
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