US deal to sell Reaper drones to United Arab Emirates
WASHINGTON: The US State Department gave Congress notification it plans to sell 18 sophisticated armed MQ9B aerial drones to the United Arab Emirates in a deal worth as much as $US2.9 billion ($NZ4.3 billion), people briefed on the notification said.
The move came on the heels of last week’s notification of a potential sale of F35 fighter jets to the middleeastern country.
This would mark the first armed drone export since the Trump Administration reinterpreted a Cold Warera arms agreement between 34 nations to allow US military contractors to sell more drones to allies.
Reuters has reported that UAE has long shown interest in purchasing drones from the United States and would be among the first customers in line after US export policy changed recently. A $US600 million deal to sell four unarmed but weaponsready MQ9B SeaGuardian drones to Taiwan was notified to Congress early this week. — Reuters