The first in a fleet of United Nations UAS will begin monitoring rebel activity on the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo next month, according to a UN commander.General Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz, commander with the UN peacekeeping brigade in the country, said the unarmed UAS would be airborne by the last week of November.
“The initial base to operate the aircarft will be in Goma, and for five months we are going to increase the equipment,” he said.
The brigade hopes to have surveillance 24 hours a day by “March or April”, he added.
The United Nations said in August it had ordered its first surveillance UAS from an Italian company to patrol the volatile eastern region, centred around the flashpoint city of Goma.
The target will be the activities of the M23 movement, founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal.
Complaining the deal was never fully implemented, they mutinied in April 2012, turning their guns on their former comrades.
If the trial is successful in the DR Congo, where the UAS will also monitor the borders with Rwanda and Uganda, they could also be used in South Sudan, Ivory Coast and in other UN missions.
Source: Global Post