Ahoy, pirates! U.S. drones are on your case

Based in Seychelles, unmanned aircraft help with 'significant challenge'

	This unmanned drone, called a Reaper, is of the type being used by the U.S. Air Force to deter pirates off Somalia.
U.S. Air Force

Interactive: Forgotten conflicts

Learn about some of the oft-forgotten clashes simmering across the globe.

Interactive

Piracy attacks

Somalia has become the focal point for piracy attacks on ships. Click here for details.

Slide show

Years of chaos
Violence and deprivation plague Somalia after the nation begins its descent into madness in 1991.

NBC World Blog

NBC News correspondents and producers around the globe share their insight on news events.

updated 11:00 a.m. ET Oct. 23, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya - U.S. military surveillance drones based in the Seychelles islands are patrolling off Somalia's coast in hopes of stemming a rising piracy trade.

Pirates have unleashed a wave of attacks in recent days as the new pirate season begins. Monsoons kept pirates off the water in recent months.

The bandits seized three ships in the last 10 days, and officials say attacks will rise.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

U.S. military officials say unmanned drones called Reapers are patrolling the Indian Ocean. Small drones were previously launched from American warships off Somalia but the larger and more advanced Reapers are the first drones to be operated in the area by the U.S. military's Africa Command.

'Significant challenge'
Vice Adm. Robert Moeller, deputy commander for U.S. Africa Command in Germany, says pirates remain "a pretty significant challenge."

Somalia has been ravaged by violence and anarchy since 1991 and piracy has flourished off its coast.