On 16 January 2014 , France 's first MQ-9 flight occurred from Niger . The first two Reapers to enter French service are designated Block 1 and use U.S. equipment ; further orders are to be modified with European payloads such as sensors and datalinks . On 31 March 2014 , French Air Force Reapers accumulated 500 flight hours in support of Operation Serval . In July 2014 , a French MQ-9 helped to locate the wreckage of Air Algérie Flight 5017 , which had crashed in Mali
Air Algérie Flight 5017
Air Algérie Flight 5017
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper