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US defense contractor selling unarmed Predator drones to UAE

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    Jennifer Griffin reports from the Pentagon

  • Duration 2:41
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Is big news this morning the US is now for the first time selling drones.

To the United Arab Emirates the -- eat this is of particular concern is the first time we've seen.

This kind of -- to the Middle East and the UAE is very close to Iran although it is an ally national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin joins us now live from the Pentagon.

Let's -- -- this Jennifer.

Well Martha Saudi Arabia and the united Arab -- emirates have been asking for some time to buy these remotely piloted.

-- also known -- drones.

But it wasn't until the largest arms expo in the world which began on Sunday in Abu Dhabi that the deal was finalized and announced the UAE agreed to by one point four billion dollars in US weapons.

Including we're told.

200 million dollars in unarmed predator drones which amounts to.

About twenty remotely piloted aircraft from general -- comics aeronautical systems that's at.

US contractor.

They will buy them through a -- -- known as the international -- group the State Department and pentagon have remained mum on that about the deal.

Which was confirmed to Fox News from UAE sources but here's a press release from general -- comics last week quote.

An updated version of -- -- flagship predator predator XP offers improved intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

And has been licensed by the US government to be proposed for sale to a broader customer base including countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

And this appears to have cleared the way for those sales which previously had been barred Martha.

Very interest in Jennifer's their thinking is that they would be on arms that they would be purely for surveillance but Haggis -- guarantee that right.

Well that's right and there really is no guarantee.

We're told that they will be.

Sold -- but the export variant of the predator.

Will not have something known as these hard connections which.

Is really essentially an engineering.

It you know it is the way that you would add the weaponry to that predator.

We're told that it will be deliberately engineered to make adding the weapons and possible.

According to the American contractor but it's not difficult to modify this technology.

Such as this at some point the real reason that the UAE and frankly the US wants the emirates to have these drugs is to keep an eye on neighboring -- -- The Arab countries in the region are very concerned about Iran's nuclear program.

And you're already seeing an arms race of sorts in the middle Middle East as a result might happen this -- -- a whole new layer.

Of this kind of concern.

Thanks so much Jennifer Jennifer Griffin the Pentagon there -- they grow.

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