MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. The US delegation evaded questions regarding patents on means of delivery and use of biological weapons, Chief of Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov said at a briefing on Monday, assessing the results of the meeting in Geneva of the states parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC).
According to him, the US delegation in its response regarding patents on technical means of delivery and use of biological weapons, including drones for airborne spread of infected insects, stated that development and production of biological weapons was prohibited in the USA, and any violation entailed penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment. That said, the decision to grant the patent did not violate US obligations under the BWC and did not mean that the US government condoned the inventors' claims.
"This claim is fundamentally contrary to the US patent code, which clearly states that a patent in the US cannot be issued in the absence of a complete description of, quote, "an actually existing device" and an expert evaluation of it. In an attempt to evade the questions posed, Deputy Director for the Biological Threat Reduction Program Kevin Garrett spoke exclusively about the historical aspects of the program," Kirillov clarified.
According to the Chief of Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Force, Garrett didn't point out that the real goals of the program, aimed at reducing the weapons of mass destruction potential of the former Soviet Union, were achieved back in 2008. At the same time, it was reported during a congressional hearing that the Program's goals were achieved, after which it was expanded to other regions of the world. "In this connection, it is not clear what kind of biological threats the DTRA (The Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the US Department of Defense - TASS) has been fighting in the post-Soviet area for the last 14 years," he added.
In early September, Kirillov reported that the US had developed and patented technical means of delivery and use of biological weapons on drones. According to his data, US Patent and Trademark Office issued document № 8 967 029 for drone for spreading infected insects in the air. Kirillov noted that the description of the patent states that the device can be used to destroy or incapacitate enemy troops without risk to US servicemen.