The discovery last week by US intelligence that Iraq had developed drone aircraft capable of dispensing chemical weapons "should be of concern to everybody," Powell said after a meeting with Foreign Minister Francois Fall of Guinea, and that the discovery may be another violation by Baghdad of UN resolutions.

The fuel capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle enables it to fly beyond the 150km range limit imposed by the United Nations.

That was aside "from the fact that it may contain biological and chemical weapons," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. He said the UN Security Council was expected to discuss the discovery, made by UN weapons inspectors, during a meeting in New York.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said information provided by UN inspectors about the drone was further evidence that Iraq was not complying with its international obligations.

"There is a drone ... that they came upon, that they discovered, that they are not supposed to have and it looks like it is a prohibited item," Powell said.

Speaking on Fox News, he indicated Washington would use the discovery of the unmanned aircraft, which apparently has a wingspan of eight metres, to put further pressure on doubters within the UN Security Council to back military action against Iraq.

"It is the kind of thing we'll be making some news about in the course of the week," he said.

Iraq Halts Al-Samoud Production, Number Of UN Inspectors Falls
Iraq has stopped the production of banned Al-Samoud 2 missiles, a UN spokesman said Tuesday, confirming the destruction of 55 missiles in 10 days. "They have stopped the production" of Al-Samoud 2 missiles, UN inspectors' spokesman Hiro Ueki told a press conference.

Ueki said three more banned Al-Samoud 2 missiles, nine warheads and a launcher were destroyed under UN supervision on Tuesday.

He added that the number of UN inspectors in Iraq had fallen to 71, from more than 100 at the end of February, but denied the fall was part of evacuation plans ahead of an anticipated US-led war.

Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express UAV NEWS UAVs May Play Increasing Operational Role Washington - Mar 07, 2003 The Air Force's deputy chief of staff for air and space operations is cautiously optimistic about the growing role of unmanned aerial vehicles and remotely piloted vehicles in future conflicts.