US eases controls on exports of armed drones

The US president decided to ease controls on sales of armed drones like the Reaper and the Predator 
 

US eases controls on exports of armed drones

By Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt - commons file, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68095681

President Trump has approved the easing of controls on the sale of US-made unmanned military aircraft to foreign militaries. The White House announced that the president approved the step that represents a change from the 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime under which 35 countries, including the US, agreed to limit the sales of remote-controlled aircraft and missiles in order to control the spread of systems that can carry payloads with nuclear weapons.   

The new Executive Order stipulates that some types of remote-controlled aircraft still cannot be sold to foreign customers, while the export of others will be considered on a case-by-base basis. According to this classification it will be possible to sell leading US drones such as the Reaper and the Predator as well as several other similar military aircraft that meet the criteria.  

The Defense Post reports that the new order has raised concern among arms control advocates, who claim that the sale of advanced American remote-controlled aircraft to other countries may fuel a global arms race. Others claimed that "This reckless decision makes it more likely that we will export some of our most deadly weaponry to human rights abusers across the world."  

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