News
We won’t arm drones in East African waters – US
Posted Monday, November 16 2009 at 00:00
The operation could make use of other intelligence-gathering options in addition to the Reapers, he said without specifying those options.
He emphasised, however, that these “assets will not be armed, and we have no plans of doing so.”
The Reaper class of drones can carry several guided bombs and missiles.
The Reapers are more powerful than the drones known as MQ-1 Predators that are regularly used by the US to strike targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Attacks carried out by these remote-controlled aircraft have been criticised by a United Nations special investigator of extrajudicial.
He termed them summary and arbitrary executions which could violate international law.
The Seychelles-based mission is expected to last several months as Africom assesses its effectiveness, Mr Crawley said.
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