The Obama administration will announce a shift in policy to allow for the export of armed drones for the first time, according to reports.
The announcement, first reported in the Washington Post, would open a lucrative market to U.S. exporters.
The Teal Group, a defense industry analysis group, estimates that the worldwide unmanned aerial vehicle market will total more than $91 billion over the next 10 years, with military drones comprising almost 90 percent of those buys.
According to the Post, the rules that will govern the export of the drones will be classified, but would open up drone purchases to additional countries. While allies such as NATO partners have been able to purchase unarmed surveillance drones previously, only Britain has been allowed to purchase armed drones, according to the Post.
