Trump May Lift Export Restrictions On MQ-9 Reaper Drones

Eastern European countries want to acquire them.

US President Donald Trump is set to unilaterally renegotiate a 38-year-old arms control treaty. In particular, it will allow the sale of modern drones like the MQ-9 Reaper and other advanced models to other countries. About it writes Reuters with reference to a US official and four people familiar with the plan.

It is noted that Trump wants to sell Saudi Arabia more than 100 Reaper drones. The kingdom requested these drones in the spring of 2025.

The sources said the move could be part of a $142 billion arms deal. U.S. allies in the Pacific and Europe have also expressed interest in similar weapons.

The agency's sources explained that the U.S. would be able to circumvent the Missile Technology Control Regime Agreement, signed in 1987, by defining attack drones as fighter-like aircraft rather than missile systems. That will allow Washington to sell drones to the UAE and Eastern European countries that have long wanted U.S. UAVs.

A U.S. official told reporters that the new policy will allow General Atomics, Kratos (KTOS.O) and Anduril, which makes heavy drones, to register their products with the State Department as goods for "foreign military sales," simplifying export procedures.

The Missile Technology Control Regime Agreement now prohibits the U.S. from exporting many military drones to other countries unless a strong security justification is provided and the buyer agrees to use the weapons in strict compliance with international law, the agency recalled.

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