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    HomeAmericasUnited StatesEyes Over Africa: US Building Huge New Drone Base in Central Niger

    Eyes Over Africa: US Building Huge New Drone Base in Central Niger

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    The US is building a new overseas military in Niger, adding to its existing inventory of more than 800 bases in more than 70 countries, according to a recent dispatch from central Niger.

    The Associated Press reported Monday that the US Air was constructing hangars and runways for armed MQ-9 Reaper drones to conduct flights around West Africa. The base is supposedly being built at the request of Niger's government.

    US defense officials have not disclosed just how many deadly drones will call the new base home. The base's $110 million construction cost makes it the “largest troop labor construction project in US history,” the AP reported, citing US Air Force officials.

    The MQ-9 Reaper is arguably the most advanced drone in the US arsenal. The remotely piloted aircraft has a range of 1,150 miles, allowing it to provide strike support and intelligence gathering capabilities across West and North Africa from the new base outside of Agadez. The unmanned aircraft is larger than its MQ-1 Predator drone cousin, features laser designators for dropping GBU-12 Paveway II bombs, a synthetic aperture radar for integrating GBU-38 Direct Attack Munitions, and the capability to carry an armament of four Hellfire air-to-ground anti-armor and anti-personnel missiles.

    The multi-role aircraft can perform surveillance and reconnaissance duties as a secondary function as well.

    Since Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, smuggling…

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