Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson has a rich history in the field of aviation, but the iconic singer has been accused of accepting a deal with the U.S. military to develop 'lighter-than-air' drones. Dickinson has since denied the accusations, but according to another news source, the alleged contract could be worth anything up to $500 million.

News website Dorset Eye recently posted an article entitled, 'Bruce Dickinson: Rock 'n' Roll Warmonger,' which dramatically accuses Dickinson of developing wartime drones via a company in which he is invested. For their source, Dorset Eye linked off to a post from Conference Speakers International, which has since been taken down by the website. However, the October 2012 post has been shared in online forums, so we can confirm that Conference Speakers International did indeed write, "Bruce the business man has been involved in manufacturing air ships lighter than air drones which has received a $500 million contract from the U.S. Military."

A spokesperson for Iron Maiden tells NME, "This is a totally inaccurate and malicious piece of writing that seems to have stemmed from an unfortunate mistake in terminology on a South African website that the writer of said blog has since used as a starting point and catalyst to go off on a flight of sheer fantasy. Both Bruce Dickinson and Iron Maiden's manager Rod Smallwood were early investors in, and remain great supporters of, Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), a company that has nothing whatsoever to do with drones, 'lighter than air' or otherwise!"

The statement continues: "As with many far-sighted technological advances, early adopters and financial supporters tend to be military-based as they have the resources to invest and develop, be that everything from space-travel to medicine. Possible military use of HAVs in future could be for heavy-lifting, transportation or high altitude detection of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), or similar, thus saving lives, both military and civilian. Rather than being involved in attacks in the Third World, as this writer has claimed in such an erroneously dramatic and defamatory manner, HAVs are designed to offer much needed assistance to civilians, businesses and governments that would be unavailable otherwise, due to the unique nature of these incredible vehicles."

Dickinson recently secured an $8 million investment to start up Cardiff Aviation Limited, an aircraft maintenance business. The singer is also involved with Flying Scholarships for Disabled People, a charity which helps disabled people learn to fly.

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