L-Ne · Historical Source Library

News Source Record

# News Source Record

**L-Ne / Open-source news extract** — Original media coverage of unmanned aerial systems.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection date | 29 November 2013 |
| Platform | Quiet Systems |
| Data label | Open-source news record // LRRK collection product |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. |
| Scale | National |
| Language | French |
| Terms matched | drones; avions sans pilote; Reaper; Harfang |

## Bibliographic

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Outlet | Le Figaro |
| Title | Drones Reaper : les premiers équipages français sont formés |
| Dateline | — (Véronique Guillermard) |
| First publisher | yes |
| Original URL | https://www.lefigaro.fr/societes/2013/11/29/20005-20131129ARTFIG00543-drones-reaper-les-premiers-equipages-francais-sont-formes.php |
| Archive URL | — |
| Dedup key | 2013-11-29|le-figaro|reaper-equipages-holloman-niamey |
| Source grade | A1 |

## Record

**Verified extract — [Fact — A1]** Véronique Guillermard reported that on Tuesday 26 November the first three French Reaper crews received U.S. diplomas at Holloman AFB, New Mexico — four months, 100 academic hours, 10 live flights, 15 simulator sessions; each crew a pilot plus a sensor operator. Lt-Col Christophe Fontaine, commander of drone squadron 1/33 “Belfort,” said continuous training of crews, mechanics and intelligence personnel aimed at two drone systems (six aircraft, four cockpits) by 2017 and two more by 2019. The squadron then had four ageing Harfang (Israeli, adapted by EADS). Le Drian had ordered 12 General Atomics Reapers off the shelf; the first two would arrive late December 2013–early 2014 for the Sahel-Saharan zone, operated from Niamey, unarmed, complementing Harfang until 2017. They could “marauder” over the Central African Republic. A Reaper cruises ~350 km/h vs Harfang ~170; transit-to-target time falls from 40–50% of flight to ~25%. Ten further airframes needed U.S. agreement to open the “black box” for European-airspace reprogramming; otherwise Le Drian had an Israeli alternative and wanted a “club européen des utilisateurs de Reaper.”

**Kinematic object.** French MQ-9 Reaper (12 planned; first two to Niamey, unarmed); Harfang still in service

**Coverage frame.** military

## Source integrity

- Why this is treated as an original
- Wire reprint status: Le Figaro original (Guillermard) with Armée de l’air quotes. Not a wire.
- What was excluded

- “Publié le 29/11/2013 à 18h44” is on the fetched page.
- Excluded later Figaro chrome.

## LRRK relevance

Campaign / Lab. First French Reaper crews and Niamey basing for Sahel ISR.

*LRRK — security assurance for systems that sense, move, and act.*

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