Lebanon receives ScanEagle drones.

On April 3, the Lebanese army announced on its Twitter account that it has received six Scan Eagle drone systems from the United States. The US Embassy in Lebanon confirmed this information in the wake.

ScanEagle (Picture source: Boeing )

ScanEagle is a small, portable low-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle with a flight endurance of over 20 hours used for battlefield intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance. Insitu is based in Bingen and has offices in Oregon, California, Australia and the United Kingdom.

The Scan Eagle systems, valued at more than $11 million, are part of a $120 million package of U.S. military aid for Lebanon announced in December 2017, The Defense Post reported.

The delivery of these systems is part of a larger US support plan, of which one component was signed in December 2017. The US "Building partner capability" program for Lebanon is thus worth a total of 120 $ M, including $ 11 million for six Scan Eagle drones and related training tools. The program also plans to equip the Lebanese Armed Forces with light MD530G attack helicopters, communication systems and night vision technologies.

"This equipment will support the Lebanese army in developing its capabilities for conducting border surveillance missions and counter-terrorism operations," the US Embassy said in December 2017.

The Scan Eagle are the first drones operated by the Lebanese Air Force.