Trump is urged to sell armed drones to UAE

President ‘should reinstate deals blocked by Obama’

NEW YORK // A group of 22 US Congress members have written to Donald Trump asking him to approve sales of armed drones to the UAE and Jordan – deals that were blocked by Barack Obama.

They say the two countries are key allies in the fight against ISIL and in thwarting growing Iranian influence in the region. The UAE has already taken delivery of an unarmed, export variant of the General Atomics Predator, becoming the first non-Nato country to have the Predator XP.

But sales of the armed MQ-9 Reaper were not allowed under a non- binding international agreement designed to prevent the proliferation of drone and missile technology.

There were also concerns in the Pentagon about sharing, even with a close partner, the military satellite technology used by the US-made drones. The UAE was also apparently barred from buying an unarmed maritime model known as the Seaguardian.

Since taking power, however, Mr Trump has signalled a more relaxed approach, promising to be a better friend to partners in the Middle East as they help to fight extremist groups. The 20 Republicans and two Democrats in the House of Representatives said the orders could be worth as much as US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn), protecting American jobs and US security.

Their letter was organised by Duncan Hunter, whose California district includes the headquarters of MQ-9 maker General Atomics.

“The multi-mission MQ-9 is a force enabler, capable of mitigating threats related to ISIL, an unpredictable Iran, and the unchecked movement of people, weapons and supplies to Syria and Yemen,” they wrote.

“Further, in the hands of our coalition partners, the MQ- 9 acts as a force multiplier, reducing the burden on US forces and providing a common operating picture in the Middle East.”

In the meantime, they point out that the UAE and Jordan have bought drones from China and urged the president to approve their request so that the two nations do not look to other countries in future.

The UAE has used export-version Chinese-made drones in Yemen and elsewhere, but a source said that these were not armed, and were used in combat to assist manned light-attack aircraft with targeting. The MQ-9 Reaper is the main strike drone used by the US air force. It has a range of more than 1,600 kilometres and can carry up to four Hellfire missiles.

Several countries fly the surveillance model but only the UK and Italy have been allowed to buy the weaponised version so far. The UAE signed a deal worth nearly US$ 200 million (Dh736m) with General Atomics for X P Predator drones in 2013, along with ground control stations and support packages, said Jane’s Defence Weekly.

The US congress approved the sale in 2015, and a source said at the time that it was for up to 10 Predators. But they did not come under UAE ownership until this year in the US, where Emirati forces were trained to use them. Delivery is now taking place. Under Mr Obama, sales were limited to close allies and conducted under the terms of the Missile Technology Control Regime, a partnership between 35 nations to prevent the proliferation of technology that could be used to deliver a nuclear payload. The US has been concerned about the way customers might use drones, said Dan Gettinger, a director of the Centre for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, in New York state.

“I think there’s concern that they may be used for targeted strikes across borders – similar to the way the US uses them – or for domestic surveillance and strikes,” Mr Gettinger said.

But the rapid growth of the Chinese drone industry was changing the debate.

“Over the past year the proliferation of armed Chinese drones has just taken off,” Mr Gettinger said.

“This whole argument about exports and proliferation is going to come into the limelight in a big way and this is just the beginning of it.” Mr Trump has shown he plans to take a different stance on working with partners.

Last month, the state department signalled it planned to proceed with the US$3bn sale of F-16 fighter jets to Bahrain without Mr Obama’s human rights conditions.

The White House is also expected to approve the sale of high-tech aircraft to Nigeria for its campaign against Boko Haram extremists despite concerns about abuses by the country’s security forces.

J V Venable, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said it was about building long- term relationships with friends rather than forcing them to go to China.

“I think it’s time we looked at what’s best for the US as opposed to thinking about what would be the ideal situation for democracy and human rights in the world,” Mr Venable said.

“That region is going to continue to be a tinderbox and we need to continue to build the alliances we need with stable and reliable friends like the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan.”