Predator drones are built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. of San Diego.

WSJ: Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones

Rasool and other Afghan villagers have their own name for Predator drones.

NPR: Afghan Villagers Flee Their Homes, Blame US Drones

Meanwhile, more help for the French and African forces is being offered by the United States, which is sending Predator drones to Niger.

BBC: France's military operation in Mali in 'final phase'

And in March, the U.S. government agreed to arm Italy's six Reaper drones but rejected a request from Turkey to purchase armed Predator drones.

CNN: A dangerous new world of drones

And Pakistani authorities have long tried to persuade the United States to give them armed Predator drones, while India owns an armed Israeli drone designed to detect and destroy enemy radar, though it does not yet have drones capable of striking other targets.

CNN: A dangerous new world of drones

Bush ordered the CIA to expand its attacks with Predator and Reaper drones.

CNN: Commentary: Where's Osama bin Laden?

Right now, Predator and Reaper drones that pilots fly remotely from thousands of miles away are completing 59 24-hour combat air patrols a day, mostly in Afghanistan, Pakistan and areas around Yemen and the Africa coast.

NPR: Military Weighs Cutbacks, Shifts In Drone Programs

The Air Force's Major Jonathan Songer points out that many of the Predator mishaps occured early in the program, when the unmanned drones were still prototypes.

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