July 14, 2017
Time for US to treat modern drones like aircraft, not missiles
President Trump’s decision last month to sell MQ-9B Guardian drones to India represents a significant shift in U.S. drone export policy.
International transfers of drones like the MQ-9 are restricted by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an anachronism from 30 years ago when the MTCR was signed and drones functioned more like missiles than aircraft. The Trump administration’s decision to sell MQ-9s to India is a good first step to treating drones like aircraft, which are not covered under the MTCR. But if the administration follows up with additional drone sales to other nations, it will be important for the U.S. to clearly distinguish drones from missiles in order to preserve the MTCR’s norm against missile proliferation.
Read the full piece on The Hill.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Two Illegal Biolabs Reveal Gaps in U.S. BiosecurityThis article was originally published on Lawfare.Last month, law enforcement officials launched an investigation into a suspected biolab in the Las Vegas home of Chinese natio...
By Sam Howell
-
Reports
Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
U.S.-Japan-Philippines Trilateral CooperationExecutive Summary Growing challenges from the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) massive military modernization, rapid technological advancement, and coercive military activ...
By Lisa Curtis & Ryan Claffey
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
CNAS Insights | America’s AI Cyber Defense Gap Needs Congress to ActTwice in the past five months, the U.S. Congress has allowed the authorization for U.S. cyber threat intelligence sharing to lapse. In each case, it managed only short-term ex...
By Spencer Michaels, Janet Egan & Michael Daniel
-
Podcast
Technology & National Security
War Is Deadly. Why Is Trump Turning It into a Meme?Israel says it killed two of Iran’s highest-ranking leaders in an airstrike on Monday night. And President Trump is bashing allies for declining to help secure the Strait of H...
By Paul Scharre
