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Friday, March 29, 2024

U.S. to sidestep arms pact to sell armed drones

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U.S. to sidestep arms pact to sell armed drones
U.S. to sidestep arms pact to sell armed drones

The Trump administration plans to reinterpret a Cold War-era arms agreement between 34 nations with the goal of allowing U.S. defense contractors to sell more American-made drones to a wide array of nations.

This report produced by Zachary Goelman.

The Trump administration will re-interpret a Cold War-era arms-control agreement in order to help American defense contractors sell military drones to more nations.

Three defense industry executives and a U.S. official told Reuters about the policy change, which has not previously been reported.

The change concerns the 33-year-old Missile Technology Control Regime - or MTCR - a pact created to curb arms proliferation, which counts 34 member nations.

Washington has long seen the MTCR's restrictions on cruise missile sales as applicable to large, weaponized drones.

And until now, only England, France and Australia have been allowed to buy armed drones from U.S. manufacturers, according to data collected by The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York state.

But an arms industry executive told Reuters that Jordan, Romania, Saudi Arabia and UAE have shown interest in purchasing U.S. systems and will be among the first customers in line when the U.S. policy changes.

Reinterpreting the MTCR is part of a broader Trump administration effort to sell more weapons overseas.

A U.S. official and industry executives told Reuters the State Department is expected to approve the first drone sales under the new interpretation as soon as this summer, The U.S. National Security Council is expected to support the policy change at a meeting next week and discuss a possible White House announcement.

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