Australian troops in Iraq will get more protection with the deployment of Miniature Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Announcing the deployment Thursday, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill said four Skylark miniature UAVs will be deployed to assist the second rotation of Australian task group in Iraq's southern province of Al Muthanna.

"The miniature UAVs will be used on reconnaissance and surveillance missions, and provide real-time information about the terrain and activities in an area," Hill said in a statement.

"This will increase our troop's understanding of the Al Muthanna area, and increase their ability to respond to identified threats,"he said.

"The UAVs that will deploy with the AMTG (Al Muthanna Task Group) are a miniature, lightweight and portable system that is easy to recover and relaunch," he said.

Hill said the Australian government was investing more and more on research and development of unmanned vehicle technology for use in future operations and for surveillance purposes.

"These new intelligent and largely autonomous systems will in the future be able to carry out hazardous tasks traditionally reserved for war fighters which will reduce exposure and risks to Australian Defense Force personnel," he said.

"UAV are an increasingly important part of the modern battlefield, particularly because they increase the troop's ability to detect, respond and remain informed of activities across a wide area," he said.

"This information can then be used to warn our troops and help them avoid potentially dangerous situations," he said.

Australia now maintains some 1,300 military personnel in and around the war-torn Middle East country.

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2005)