PARIS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- France has deployed armed drones equipped with laser-guided bombs within its Barkhane Operation in Sahel, and the experimental shots by these drones fired from Niamey air base in Niger were successful, Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly announced on Thursday.
"The French armed forces have completed with success the experimental shots of armed drones from Niamey air base, in the framework of Barkhane Operation," said the minister in a statement.
The French drones currently deployed in Sahel are American-made Reaper. Already providing surveillance support, the armed drones will from now on also be able to strike targets and "considerably improve the security of our soldiers on the ground and will strengthen our means in the face of an ever more fleeting enemy," she added.
It was a first for the French Air Force, which gave it "a new capacity", reported French media.
France has since 2014 deployed around 4,500 troops in the Sahel region to combat extremist insurgents.
