Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a 2025 Wash100 awardee, has approved an update to the U.S. government’s policy on the export of unmanned aerial systems in accordance with an executive order seeking to introduce reforms to the foreign defense sales system.
In April, President Trump signed the EO to improve transparency and accountability throughout the system, reduce rules and regulations involved in the development and execution of foreign defense sales and promote U.S. competitiveness abroad.
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In a fact sheet published Monday, the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said the department will now review drone export requests similar to how it evaluates requests to export manned fighter jets.
Opening New Markets for US Drone Industry
The State Department said the policy shift aims to open new markets for the U.S. drone industry by improving the process of adjudicating foreign defense sales requests.
According to the fact sheet, the policy update complements recent changes to the Missile Technology Control Regime-focused export policy under National Security Memorandum 28 and accelerates reforms introduced under the 2020 Revised UAS Export Policy.
The department noted that it will continue to assess all sales on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the U.S. Conventional Arms Transfer Policy.
