UAE gets American drones as China ramps up sales

Exports of Chinese drones are so extensive the sales have made China the second-largest arms exporter in the world. Why are Chinese drones so popular and why has the US held back till now from selling its own combat UAVs?In only a few years, China has been able to research, produce and refine its armed drones, complicated pieces of military hardware, enough to help tip the balance of military power in a conflict. Two main types of combat drone have been put up for export, both having achieved significant operational success. A CH-4 Chinese combat drone at $4m is a quarter of the price of a US-made Reaper MQ-9, which goes for $16m.So why do countries still seek American weapons systems and why is the US reversing its traditional stance of not selling advanced weapons systems to anyone other than close allies?While Chinese drones have been successful, they have a far from the perfect operational record. The drones can literally be flown from halfway round the world and the Reaper is the world's first dedicated Hunter-killer drone, able to carry larger, heavier precision-guided bombs as well as missiles. The US has been reticent to sell these premier combat drone systems fearing they will either be misused or the technology would fall into the hands of its rivals, such as China, which has been accused of industrial espionage in helping it advance its high-tech military programmes.To the US's regional allies, this hesitance to share weapons and technology has seemed hypocritical as it was the US that conducted an extensive assassination programme over Pakistan, with few ethical qualms hindering the campaign.China has no such problems in selling its technology and has seen its influence grow across the Middle East as a result.