Dr Blix did not, however, tell the Security Council until after yesterday's foreign ministers' meeting that he had discovered a new Iraqi drone that could be used to spray chemical weapons over a range of 300 miles. [...] But Dr Blix infuriated America by failing to tell the foreign ministers about the discovery of a new Iraqi drone with a wingspan of more than seven metres. The drone, which is subject to the same UN rules as missiles, had been test-flown for 500km (300 miles) non-stop; the UN limit is 150km.The discovery was reported in a six-page addendum to Dr Blix's report, which was not circulated until after the Security Council meeting.
expanded upon here:
A report declassified by the United Nations yesterday contained a hidden bombshell with the revelation that inspectors have recently discovered an undeclared Iraqi drone with a wingspan of 7.45m, suggesting an illegal range that could threaten Iraq's neighbours with chemical and biological weapons.US officials were outraged that Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, did not inform the Security Council about the drone, or remotely piloted vehicle, in his oral presentation to Foreign Ministers and tried to bury it in a 173-page single-spaced report distributed later in the day. The omission raised serious questions about Dr Blix's objectivity.
These Iraqi drone aircraft are not really a new development. The Federation of American Scientists website (http://www.fas.org) contains a declassified CIA document dating back to 1992 (http://www.fas.org/irp/gulf/cia/960702/74623_01.htm) that mentions them. Elsewhere on the site, FAS says, "while public attention is focused on ballistic missiles, Iraq has even more effective and lethal platforms of the delivery of its weapons of mass destruction. In late December 1996, German intelligence confirmed that Iraqi weapons technicians developed a drone described as 'the little guy's cruise missile.' This unmanned aircraft is made of plastics and plywood -- simple and cheap to produce without any tell-tale equipment that can attract the UN inspectors. The drone has a range of about 700 kilometers and is equipped with a very accurate GPS navigation system illegally purchased in the West. Each drone can carry 30 to 40 kilograms of biological or chemical warfare agents to the intended target. It is almost impossible to detect this drone by radar because of its size, slow speed and lack of metal parts." I have yet to find proof of German confirmation, but this is certainly interesting stuff...
Posted by: daemon on March 10, 2003
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Posted by: Mare on April 07, 2003