DEFENSE
REAPER LOVE
Impressed with the performance of its first two U.S. MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems (UAS), France is looking forward to delivery of a third in early 2015. “We made the right choice, if you believe the users,” Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told French lawmakers last month, adding that the General Atomics-built Reaper has enabled “meaningful” engagements in support of the French-led Operation Barkhane in Mali, and that the U.S. technology is superior to that of France's four Harfangs built by Israei Aerospace Industries.