Israeli industry feels sales of drones, like the Heron UAV, could be expanded. (David Silverman/Getty Images)

TEL AVIV: Israeli defense firms, wary of seeing their unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market share drip away to rival producers, are pushing Israeli government officials to drop its adherence to technical limits placed on military drones through the Missile Technology Control Regime, or MTCR.

Government officials have not made a decision yet, according to multiple industry and defense sources, but are feeling growing pressure from local industry over the issue. Should the government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett agree to such a move, it would likely seek out political approval from Washington.

The MTCR is an agreement among 35 nations governing the export of missiles and UAVs. Under the terms of the MTCR, any “category-1” system capable of carrying 500-kilogram payloads for more than 300 kilometers faces major export hurdles — the home country may still decide to…

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Source: breakingdefense.com