British Royal Air Force will provide spy aircraft Sentinel R1 to support French Army in Mali

A surveillance aircraft Sentinel R1 from RAF (British Royal Air Force) Waddington has been sent to Mali Friday, January 25, 2013, to support France's military action there, the Ministry of Defence said. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the Sentinel R1 aircraft "has proved its worth in Libya and on an ongoing basis for counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan".

The Sentinel R1 spy plane is a modified business jet which uses radar to create accurate real-time images of what is happening on the ground.

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United Kingdom sends 20 soldiers of Special Forces SAS and intelligence drones Reaper to Mali

Britain is to send spy planes, unmanned drones and special forces to Mali to ‘find and dismantle’ the Al Qaeda network behind the slaughter in Algeria. In an escalation of the UK’s support for French forces fighting the militants in the African country, David Cameron said he would commit ‘intelligence and counter terrorism assets’.

A Reaper MQ-9 UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) based at Creech Air Force Bace, Nevada, USA prepares for a training mission over the west coast of America. (Credit photo British MOD)

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