France will buy two medium-altitude Reaper drones from the United States air force to back up its operations against Islamists in Mali, the Air et Cosmos specialist magazine reported on Friday. It said on its online edition that an agreement had been reached for the purchase of two non-armed MQ-9 drones from the US air force. It said the French air force, which has deployed the Harfang drone in Mali - made by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company - wanted to acquire more modern drones quickly.
Any purchase of new Reapers directly from its manufacturer General Atomics would mean a delay of several months.