April 20, 2018
A new U.S. policy makes it (somewhat) easier to export drones
The Trump administration just announced a new drone export policy designed to make it easier for U.S. companies to export drones, including armed drones. Given concerns about the proliferation of these lethal systems, what explains this policy shift?
U.S. drone export policy is determined both by domestic policy and U.S. obligations as a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a voluntary export control regime with 35 member states. Created in 1987, the MTCR was designed to prevent the spread of missiles with the potential to carry weapons of mass destruction.
Even though drones are more akin to airplanes than missiles, drones that can travel more than 300 kilometers and carry a payload of more than 500 kilograms are subject to the “strong presumption of denial” for export by MTCR members. As a result, U.S. armed drones have only been approved for sale to the Britain, Italy and France.
Read the full article at The Washington Post
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Beyond Bans: Expanding the Policy Options for Tech-Security ThreatsStuck between a rock (the fact that banning all Chinese tech that poses a risk is expensive and impractical) and a hard place (the fact that many existing mitigation proposals...
By Geoffrey Gertz
-
Reports
Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
Cyber Crossroads in the Indo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific faces a cyber crossroads. Down one path lies deeper military, intelligence, and economic ties between Washington and its key allies and partners in this strat...
By Vivek Chilukuri, Lisa Curtis, Janet Egan, Morgan Peirce, Elizabeth Whatcott & Nathaniel Schochet
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Securing America’s AI Future: Federal Research and Development PrioritiesOn April 29, 2025, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Request for Information on the Development of a 2025 National Artificial Intelligenc...
By Caleb Withers & Spencer Michaels
-
Video
Middle East Security / Technology & National Security
‘We Want Peace’: How Attacks Between Israel and Iran Could Impact People in NCRetired Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for New American Security. Shanahan provided some context on how the two Middle East countries got her...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
