The Washington Post said the Obama administration is to announce later on Tuesday that it has decided to allow its allies share in a technology that has become a key element of the US’s counter-terrorism strategy. To date, while several countries have been provided with unarmed drones, only Britain has been able to purchase the armed option.

At the moment, Israel and China already operate their own armed drones and the decision by Washington will be a boost to US arms companies looking to expand global sales. Privately, arms companies have been pressuring Washington to relax the rules, reports said.

It has been reported that the rules governing the sale of armed drones will be classified. The global market for drones is currently estimated to be worth $6bn (£3.9bn).

"The technology is here to stay,” an unidentified State Department official told the newspaper. "It’s to our benefit to have certain allies and partners equipped appropriately.”

The announcement comes after regulators in the US proposed a series of rules for the domestic use of drones.

Strikes, carried out by both the CIA and the Pentagon, have become a central part of US operations in countries running from Iraq to Pakistan and Yemen.

But they have also generated widespread controversy. In places such as Pakistan there is a ongoing debate about whether their use – officially without the approval of the Pakistani government – represents an assault upon Pakistani sovereignty.

Campaigners have also sought to highlight the number of civilians killed by such strikes. Cameron Munter, who once served as the US Ambassador to Pakistan, left his post amid concerns about the way drones were being used.

"My feeling is one man’s combatant is another man’s chump who went to a meeting,” he told the Daily Beast of a US policy that designated all males between 20 and 40 in certain locations as a potential target.

On Tuesday night, another official told Reuters: "As with any other sale, all [drone] sales will continue to be reviewed for human rights, regional power balance, and other implications."

The official added: "The new policy ensures appropriate participation for US industry in the emerging commercial UAS market, which will contribute to the health of the U.S. industrial base, and thus to U.S. national security, which includes economic security."

(independent.co.uk)