Obama administration plans to arm Italy's drones

The Obama administration plans to arm Italy with Reaper drone aircraft, potentially opening the door for sales of drone technology to other allies, according to lawmakers and officials familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The sale would make Italy the first foreign country after Britain to fly U.S. drones armed with missiles, according to the report. Italy intends to deploy the drones in Afghanistan initially, U.S. officials said.

Lawmakers against the deal say it would become harder for the U.S. government to deny similar capabilities to other North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, blunting the Pentagon’s competitive edge against other nations, the article said.