Skip to main content
The Morning Star 2026 Conference
Drone firms spend thousands wooing Nato leaders

DRONE manufacturers spent hundreds of thousands of pounds to lobby world leaders at last week’s Nato Summit, human rights activists revealed yesterday.

According to research by legal charity Reprieve, arms groups such as General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin paid up to £300,000 to show their wares at the Newport conference. 

“The illegal use of drones to carry out secret bombings is one of the most controversial issues around,” said Reprieve legal director Kat Craig.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Defence ministers (L to R) ) Romania’s Angel Tilvar, Estonia’s Hanno Pevkur, Luxembourg’s Yuriko Backes, Belgium’s Theo Francken and Germany’s Boris Pistorius and Bulgaria’s Atanas Zapryanov at a meeting of EU defence ministers at the European Council building in Brussels on May 20 2025
Militarism / 31 May 2025
31 May 2025

In the conclusion of his two-part article, PETER MERTENS reveals that while global military spending hits $2.7 trillion with European arms company profits soaring 1,000%, €1 invested in hospitals creates 2.5 times more jobs than weapons