After years of urging from drone manufacturers, US lawmakers have decided to establish a policy that allows for the export of military and commercial drones. The new rules came just days after the FAA released its own guidelines regarding commercial drone flights in the US and suggests that 2015 could be a big year for the unmanned aircraft.
Related Link: FAA Rolls Out Drone Rules: What You Need To Know
New policy Rules
The export policy will allow US manufacturers to sell everything from surveillance drones to armed drones to allies, provided the nations agree to a set of strict guidelines. Countries that purchase the technology from the US will be required to guarantee that the aircraft will be operated in accordance to international law and that they will not take part in unlawful surveillance.
US Follows China In Drone Export
US intelligence officials have been warning about the growing threat of advancing military technology in both China and Russia; and China has already begun exporting drones to its own allies in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. At the moment, the US has only supplied the aircraft to Great Britain, but the new policy will likely spark purchases in Italy, Turkey and the Philippines.
Drone Makers Cheer
Drone manufacturers like General Atomic are cheering the new policy, as it creates a larger market and will likely boost sales. Companies that manufacture drone components are also likely to see a lift. Defense companies like Northrop Grumman NOC and Lockheed Martin LMT, whose missiles contribute to military combat drones, will benefit from the sales of armed aircraft; but many smaller companies could reap even larger benefits. InvenSense Inc. INVN provides motion tracking technology for several drone models and IXYS Corp IXYS makes chips and controllers.
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