France seeks $1.5B MQ-9 Reaper deal
France is seeking to procure MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft from the United States in a package deal worth an estimated $1.5 billion. News of the proposed sale, reported to Congress by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, closely follows word from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., maker of the Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle that it planned to develop a variant of the aircraft that would meet NATO and general European civil airworthiness requirements The MQ-9 Reaper is another name for the Predator B, a hunter/killer unmanned aerial vehicle designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance. Intelligence and reconnaissance missions by the U.S. Air force. It has a maximum speed of 300 mph, a service ceiling of 50,000 feet, an operational ceiling of 25,000 feet and an endurance of 14 hours when fully loaded.
