FORT DRUM (AP) -- Unmanned Reaper drone training flights have started from an air base at northern New York's Fort Drum.
Federal aviation authorities gave permission for the flights starting Tuesday.
The New York Air National Guard's 174th Fighter Wing will fly the MQ-9 Reapers out of Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield in Watertown to train active duty Air Force, Reserve and Air National Guard operators.
They'll fly three times a week at first, using the same airspace as F-16 fighters on training runs.
The flight training unit is based at Hancock Field in Syracuse, where there's also a Reaper maintenance training facility.
The Reaper is used for intelligence-gathering, combat search and rescue, and ground attacks. Army officials say the pilots will randomly pick out targets such as buildings and vehicles to observe during the training.
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