France provides EU’s Operation IRINI with advanced reconnaissance aircraft
France has provided the European Operation IRINI with sophisticated reconnaissance aircraft to participate in monitoring operations on the Libyan coast.
Regarding the details, the British newspaper, “Naval News”, reported that the French Air Force deployed unmanned aircraft, an MQ-9 Reaper (UAV); to carry out maritime surveillance missions as part of Operation IRINI, whose mission is to enforce the arms embargo on Libya.
“The aforementioned aircraft was remotely tested from France and was controlled in real time from Lyon, and flew through dedicated air corridors to the central Mediterranean,” the French Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The European Council officially launched Operation IRINI on April 1, 2020, at this time a German submarine is participating in the operation in addition to the German ship “Berlin” and the Italian Navy’s amphibious assault ship “San Giorgio”. Seven countries are actively involved in the process: Italy, Greece, France, Germany, Poland, Malta and Luxembourg.
IRINI’s primary mission is to implement the UN arms embargo on Libya through the use of air, sea and satellite assets. It searches ships on the high seas off the Libyan coast suspected of carrying weapons or related materials to and from Libya.
