{"id":38372,"date":"2017-09-05T15:32:41","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T15:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/05\/france-to-arm-military-surveillance-drones\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:02:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:02:26","slug":"france-to-arm-military-surveillance-drones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2017\/09\/05\/france-to-arm-military-surveillance-drones\/","title":{"rendered":"France to arm military surveillance drones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PARIS \u2014 France is set to arm drones that are currently used exclusively for surveillance and intelligence, a first for the French military, the defense minister said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Florence Parly said the decision will initially apply only to the six unarmed Reaper surveillance drones that France bought from the United States. Most of them, based in Africa\u2019s Sahel region, are involved in the fight against Islamic militants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parly did not specify a time frame for when they would be armed or what kind of weapons would be deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drones wouldn\u2019t become \u201ckiller robots,\u201d Parly said. The French rules of engagement will apply, as will international law, laws governing armed conflict and protection of civilians, she added. The rules of engagement for armed drones will be \u201cstrictly identical\u201d to those applied today to weapons such as Caesar artillery, cruise missiles and Rafale fighter jet, she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arming the drones will give the French military \u201cendurance, discretion, surveillance and strike capability at the right place and the right moment,\u201d Parly said in a speech in the southeastern city of Toulon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, this French weapons decision will apply to the Reapers ordered from the U.S., while down the road the planned European medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV will also be armed, Parly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France will be joining nations which have already armed or are in the process of arming their drones, namely the U.S., Britain, Germany, Italy, and some 10 other countries, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue has long been sensitive in France, where some critics have expressed fears about pilots operating at a great distance from the battle ground. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other senior executives involved in robotics and artificial intelligence recently stirred debate by calling for a ban on autonomous weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\t