MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In a speech to be delivered at the Royal United Services Institute, Fallon will reportedly say the second Airseeker Rivet Joint drone will be flying reconnaissance missions in Syria starting in late August, the Daily Mail newspaper said.
Eight Tornado fighters, ten Reaper UAVs, a Sentinel intelligence aircraft and a refueling plane have been dispatched to the Middle East to take part in military operations against ISIL.
The cost of one US-built Airseeker is estimated at 700 million pounds (over $1 billion). The spy plane not only gathers intelligence but also analyzes it on board and distributes the data to assets on the ground, the UK Defense Ministry says.
Britain is part of an international coalition of more than 60 countries, including the United States, Arab and European nations, working together to dismantle and destroy ISIL in Syria and Iraq.
