(by Massimiliano D'Elia) President Donald Trump is working to make it easier to export certain types of lethal weapons such as small drones. Trump has decided to speed up the regulations that regulate the trade in unmanned weapons, because it is sensitized by the American producers who, according to them, would suffer the global competition of Chinese and Israelis who adopt more streamlined regulations on the subject.
The White House in promoting the slogan of "buy American" to create new jobs and reduce the trade deficit of the United States, will, on this occasion, go against the rules and international agreements on human rights and the will of associations for the arms control. To go in this direction, Trump is increasingly warning the country about violence and instability in regions such as the Middle East and South Asia.
The new arms export policy was blocked for months, despite urges from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and indications from Security Advisor McMaster who complained about the commercial aggression of some overseas countries.
The emerging market for unmanned military aircraft is that of Hunter-killers, machines that carry fewer missiles and travel shorter distances, compared to larger models such as the iconic Predator.
Some anonymous sources have reported that the new liberalization policy will then be extended to drones of all sizes. Trump is willing to expand the sale not only to allies. Modern warfare is increasingly oriented to the use of "unmanned" weapon systems and the United States does not want to lag behind its global competitors.
Trump's initial idea was the sale of drone models to be used only for monitoring and targeting, but it was necessary to expand the offer also with armed models. A list of potential buyers is already almost defined and includes NATO members, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf partner countries, Japan and South Korea. It is being studied to allow acquisitions also to strategic regional partners such as the India, Singapore and Australia. To date, the only American armed drones have been sold to Britain and Italy, but we are working to get the technology to be sold worldwide, an anonymous source told Reuters. “It was a contradiction that one of our allies could buy this military technology from another country and not from us, thus affecting our commercial and industrial power. A Trump administration official reported that the US government was speeding up regulations to streamline trade bureaucracy throughout the aerospace sector, precisely to fight international competition on equal terms.
But who will benefit most from the new course the Trump administration wants to take?
Textron and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc, currently covers the small armed drone market internationally, although current US regulations have limited sales so far.
In light of the news the company is thinking of increasing the production of the product. The new legislation in question would, however, also favor the big names in the sector such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics and Lockheed Martin.
The small armed drone for planetary export is expected to be slightly less expensive than high-end ones like the Predator and Reaper, around 17 million euros, and will be less destructive than the larger drones. The firepower can destroy vehicles, small structures, and small armed positions. A purely urban and more surgical use.
US officials say exporting more streamlined weapon systems is in line with Trump's election promises, where he vowed to strengthen the defense industry and make foreign partners pay more for their defense. Increased sales of these small drones “could put these weapons in the hands of the wrong governments that could use them against their neighbors or control their own population,” warned Jeff Abramson, a senior at the arms control association. Former President Barack Obama also introduced rules in 2015 to increase military drone exports, but manufacturers complained they were still too restrictive.
The new draft arms policy is expected to be presented in the coming weeks. Among the more substantial changes will be a milder application of the "presumption of denial" rule. This rule has seen many sales denied in the past for reasons and rules of international law.
The MTCR a 1987 agreement for arms control, signed by the United States and 34 other countries where strict export controls are required on drone-like weapons, such as the Predator, which classifies them as category 1 weapons, those with a payload of over 1,100 pounds ( 500 kg). The Trump administration will also try to renegotiate this agreement to encourage the export of large armed drones, produced in the US.