The United Nations wants to employ unarmed remotely piloted aircraft for the first time in a peacekeeping operation, reports AFP. UN officials would like to see member states, such as the United States or France, supply RPA for monitoring fighting in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Rwanda is accused of aiding rebels fighting the Congolese government, according to the wire service’s Nov. 23 report. This would be one step to strengthen MONUSCO, the UN’s stabilization mission in the DR Congo. However the precedent-setting move is raising concern among some UN members over the issue of who would have access to the intelligence information gathered by the overhead surveillance platforms, states the report.
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
