20110310 Xinhua BRUSSELS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- NATO surveillance aircraft will monitor Libyan airspace around-the-clock to gather more information on the ground for decision-making, the alliance's chief said Thursday.
"We have extended surveillance in the Mediterranean. Having our AWACS monitoring the situation 24/7, will provide us with a better picture of what is going on and of course this improved picture is a prerequisite for evaluating the situation accurately," Anders Fogh Rasmussen said as NATO defense ministers gathered to weigh options for Libya.
NATO Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, or AWACS, routinely monitoring airspace over the Mediterranean as part of Operation Active Endeavor, had been watching Libya for 10 hours per day.
The aircraft need not to fly into Libyan airspace to observe the situation given the range of their radar.
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