Alphabet Inc's Google will not renew a contract to help the U.S. military analyse aerial drone imagery when it expires in March, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the company moves to defuse internal uproar over the deal. The defence programme, called Project Maven, set off a revolt inside Google, as factions of employees opposed Google technology being used in warfare. The dissidents said it clashed with the company's stated principle of doing no harm and cited risks around using a nascent artificial intelligence technology in lethal situations. Google plans to honour what is left of its contract on Project Maven, the person said. More than 4,600 employees signed a petition calling for Google to cancel the deal, with at least 13 employees resigning in recent weeks in protest at Google's involvement, according to a second person familiar with the deal.