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eye in the sky

European Union reveals plans to have fleet of drones patrolling the English Channel for illegal immigrant boats

Fixed-wing unmanned aircraft would monitor movements of commercial vessels and be able to home-in on speedboats missed by satellites

DRONES could be used to patrol the English Channel for illegal immigrant boats.

The EU wants to use them to spy on suspicious craft that are not picked up by satellites.

 Drones could be used to patrol the English Channel for illegal immigrant boats
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Drones could be used to patrol the English Channel for illegal immigrant boatsCredit: Getty Images

The European Union is in talks with European Maritime Safety Agency boss Markku Mylly over launching the 'flying spies' along the continent's northern coast.

 The EU wants to use the drones to spy on suspicious craft that are not picked up by satellites
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The EU wants to use the drones to spy on suspicious craft that are not picked up by satellitesCredit: Getty Images
 The unmanned aircraft will be able to assist searches when satellites are unable to follow the trail
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The unmanned aircraft will be able to assist searches when satellites are unable to follow the trailCredit: Getty Images
 The EU hope the new fleet of drones will be able to spot migrant vessels in the Channel
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The EU hope the new fleet of drones will be able to spot migrant vessels in the ChannelCredit: Getty Images

The fixed-wing unmanned aircraft would monitor the movements of commercial vessels and be able to home-in on the smallest speedboats that are missed by satellites.

A team of 17 would pilot them from Lisbon in Portugal, and £66 million has been set aside to built the first fleet.

 A team of 17 would pilot the craft from Lisbon in Portugal
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A team of 17 would pilot the craft from Lisbon in PortugalCredit: Getty Images

Europe's air-traffic controllers would first need to agree rules to ensure they do not crash with large aircraft.

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