Germany wants surveillance airships for U.N. mission in Mali

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German military plans to beef up security for a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali by deploying a number of tethered aerostats - small airships with threat-tracking sensors - like those used by the U.S. military in Afghanistan, a spokeswoman for the armed forces said.

U.S. officials said they had provided information to the German Bundeswehr about a range of options, including the possibility of buying used aerostats built by Lockheed Martin Corp for the U.S. Army.