Tel Aviv. The world is changing fast and defense technologies and the rules that are meant to control them are also very flexible.

This fact is portrayed among other things by the change in acronyms.

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) should be changed to something like “The long range platform technology control regime” or LRPTCR. The acronym is not that important. What is important is the adaption of the reality to many kinds of control efforts.

Unmanned air vehicles, UAVs, are changing the reality that lead to the original MTCR.

In Israel but not only, officials are discussing the ways in which the MTCR in its wider version, may affect the export of Israeli developed UAV.

Israel has not officially joined the MTCR but because of its “special relations” with the US, is adhering to its limitations.

The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, complete rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles, and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogram payload to a range of 300 kilometers, as well as systems intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

In recent years the original MTCR treaty has been updated by an annex, but this will have to change again.

The fast progress of the technologies, is simply forcing it and Israel as a UAV “Super Power” accelerates the process.

A recent example to the pace of reality – Israel aerospace industries (IAI) has recently developed a special export version of its Heron-TP MALE UAV that adheres with the latest version of the MTCR.
The MTCR has been updated to include long range UAVs that can carry heavy payloads but it seems that more updates will be needed in the future.

-The writer is International Roving Correspondent of the publication