France interested in fighting bespilotnikami

The General Delegation for Armaments (DGA) Ministry of Defense of France for talks with U.S. company General Atomics on the possible purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) MQ-9 Reaper. As reported by Defense News, fighting bespilotniki is scheduled to adopt the French contingent in Afghanistan.

Purchase of UAVs MQ-9 Reaper is considered as an option, although the French military are more interested in adopting unmanned systems manufactured in Europe. The final decision is not currently accepted.

According to the company General Atomics, interest in UAVs MQ-9 Reaper show, and other European countries. We recall in particular that in August this year, the Pentagon notified the U.S. Congress that he had received orders to supply bespilotnikov this type of Germany and Italy. However, the German government immediately denied the information on the planned procurement of MQ-9 Reaper.

Despite the fact that the company General Atomics is currently overloaded with orders Department of Defense, export contract with France may receive priority status, because in addition to the commercial benefits it will contribute to the development of interaction between the armed forces of the two nations.

In turn, France, in the case of the purchase MQ-9 Reaper, is likely to have access to data from American and British bespilotnikov that have been deployed in Afghanistan previously.

The reason for the DGA intensify negotiations with manufacturers of unmanned systems has become the deaths of 10 French soldiers in fighting with the Taliban in August this year. It is one of the main reasons for the loss suffered was the incomplete information on the tactical situation.

UAVs MQ-9 Reaper is a reconnaissance-strike system, a standard set of weapons which includes four guided missile AGM-114 Hellfire and two bombs GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided. The unit is equipped with turboprop engines, can exceed a speed of 480 kilometers per hour. The maximum flight duration reaches 24 hours.

Bespilotniki this type received by the U.S. Air Force in March last year. In Afghanistan and Iraq, they apply from October 2007 and July 2008 respectively.