Armed US Predator drones are carrying out missions over Libya, Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said.
Mr Gates said their use had been authorised by President Barack Obama and would give "precision capability" to the military operation.
US drones are already used to target militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Libyan rebels have been battling Col Gaddafi's troops since February but have recently made little headway.
"President Obama has said that where we have some unique capabilities, he is willing to use those," Mr Gates told a news conference.
He said two armed, unmanned Predators were being made available to Nato as needed, and marked a "modest contribution" to the military operations.
Mr Gates denied that the drone deployment was evidence of "mission creep" in Libya and said there were still no plans to put US "boots on the ground" in Libya.
"There's no wiggle room in that," he said.
Gen James Cartwright, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the first mission had taken place on Thursday but turned back due to bad weather.
He said the drones - which can fly at a lower altitude than conventional fighter jets - were "uniquely suited for urban areas", providing improved visibility of tanks and other potential targets.
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