TSAMTO, February 9. The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands announced the acceptance of the first MQ-9 "Riper" UAV of the Block version.5 manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI).
After the acceptance flight tests conducted by the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands together with the US Air Force, it was decided that the UAV meets the requirements of the contract. The flights took place at the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems company in Poway (California).
According to the Ministry, acceptance tests of the remaining MQ-9 "Reaper" UAVs will take place in the near future. If they are successful, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands will place the UAV at Hato Airport on O.Curacao (an island in the Caribbean Sea in the Lesser Antilles group, is an integral part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) to conduct a comprehensive assessment when performing tasks for the intended purpose. The MQ-9 will perform the tasks of supporting the Commander of the Caribbean Navy and the Coast Guard.
As reported by TSAMTO, in February 2015, the US State Department approved the potential supply of 4 MQ-9 "Reaper" Block unmanned aerial vehicles to the Netherlands as part of the Foreign Military Sales program.5, 4 mobile ground control stations unit.30 (optional Unit.50), 2 satellite communication system terminals, 6 multispectral target designation systems (MTS)-B AN/DAS-1, other related equipment and services worth up to $339 million.
The parties signed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for the supply of UAVs for the Dutch Armed Forces during the international Air Show in Farnborough (UK) in July 2018. At the same time, GA-ASI signed an agreement on industrial participation with the Ministry of Economy of the Netherlands.
The first contract for the supply of 4 MQ-9 Reaper UAVs of the Block version within the framework of the Foreign Military Sales program.5, 4 mobile ground control stations, spare parts and related equipment for the Dutch Armed Forces were signed by the US Air Force with GA-ASI in March 2019. The cost of this agreement was $123.293 million.
The roll-out of the first MQ-9A "Reaper" of the Dutch Armed Forces took place at the GA-ASI enterprise in Poway (California) in July 2021.
All UAVs after the evaluation on O.Curacao should be transferred to the 306th Squadron of the Netherlands Air Force, stationed at Leeuwarden Air Base (Netherlands).
