Across the Middle East, countries locked out of purchasing U.S.-made drones due to rules over excessive civilian casualties are being wooed by Chinese arms dealers, who are world’s main distributor of armed drones. Chinese arms exports rose by 38 per cent between 2008-12 and 2013-17, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks the global arms trade. But with China’s drone sales booming, there’s growing pressure from U.S. arms makers to remove restrictions to let them catch up. After some U.S. lawmakers urged President Donald Trump to loosen controls and let General Atomics sell its armed Reapers to Jordan and the UAE, the administration on April 19 permitted U.S. manufacturers to directly market and sell drones, including armed versions. — Outside of the Mideast, Nigeria has used Chinese armed drones against the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

Source: National Post October 03, 2018 03:11 UTC