US May Sell Armed Drones

An anonymous reader writes: Nations allied with the United States may soon be able to purchase armed, unmanned aircraft, according to an updated U.S. arms policy. Purchase requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and foreign military bodies would have to agree to a set of "proper use" rules in order for the U.S. to go ahead with the sale. For example: "Armed and other advanced UAS are to be used in operations involving the use of force only when there is a lawful basis for use of force under international law, such as national self-defense." These rules have done nothing to silence critics of the plan, who point out that the U.S. has killed civilians during remote strikes without much accountability. The drones are estimated to cost $10-15 million apiece.

Comments

Nobody gets to use the surprise face

[rmdingler]

Weapons, entertainment, and food are pretty much the bulk of American exports.

Exporting weapons that wind up being used against our own troops is fairly commonplace in this scenario, but hey, it's all about the corporate profits baby!

Re:Nobody gets to use the surprise face

[rmdingler]

We work hard to prevent nuclear proliferation ... why not prevent advanced drone proliferation as well?

They're just not that difficult to manufacture.

If American military developers are not allowed to sell theirs, someone else will.

The market share of worldwide death-dealing is a real thing.

Re:Face it America ...

[TheCarp]

As an American myself, I really can't find any fault there. I have been saying basically the same to my countrymen for years. That said, its not us.....its the Aristocratic ruling class that we wont admit exists.