Trump administration relaxes standards for exporting drones

In a significant development, the Trump administration has relaxed standards for exporting drones to friendly countries. Under the new policy, drones that fly at speeds below 800 km per hour are no longer subject to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, the move will increase the US' national security by improving capabilities of its partners and increase economic security by opening the expanding drones market to



the US industry.

Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs Clarke Cooper said, this policy change modernises Washington's approach to implementing its MTCR commitments and makes it more reflective of the technological realities. Cooper, however, said higher-speed systems such as cruise missiles, hypersonic aerial vehicles, and advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles are not affected by this revision.