UK, France agree on more military co-operation
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond speaks to troops during a visit to the temporary Army barracks at Tobacco Dock, a former shopping centre in east London July 20, 2012. — Reuters picLONDON, July 25 — Britain and France signed two agreements yesterday for further co-operation on the use of military drones, the British Ministry of Defence said.
British Defence Minister Philip Hammond and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, pledged closer military ties and called the countries cooperation as “natural as it is necessary.”
“We will continue to draw on each other’s strengths and respective investments to get the best possible support for our Armed Forces,” Hammond said in a statement.
The agreements came as Le Drian made his first visit to London since taking office in May, following the presidential victory of Francois Hollande.
The first agreement represented the initial phase of a collaborative “demonstration programme” for a Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, unmanned air system.
The other agreement enables cooperation between the two nations on the Watchkeeper Tactical unmanned air system, which provides the British armed forces with surveillance and reconnaissance.
The neighbours already have a close defence relationship, and the latest agreements signal Hollande’s intention to maintain the defence and security co-operation treaty signed last year by his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Prime Minister David Cameron. — Reuters
