You’d think there are few safer places for the head of the Catholic church to hang out than the French city of Lourdes, but the French government wasn’t taking any chances when Pope Benedict visited a few days ago.

The French defense ministry didn’t skimp on putting military assets available to keep the pontiff safe.

(credit: SIRPA air)

For instance, for the first time, the Eagle-1 SIDM interim MALE unmanned aircraft was deployed to provide surveillance. It provided real-time imagery to several locations, including the national air operations center at Lyon, the UAV’s home base at Mont-de-Marsan, and the prefecture of the Hautes-Pyrenees region.

For air defense, the French military also had a Crotale NG system at the ready. Moreover, fighters, Fennec helicopters, and Tucanos were prepared to intervene should something happen.