TSAMTO, March 28th. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has announced that, in cooperation with the Dutch Air Force Command, it is modernizing the growing fleet of MQ-9A UAVs.
Lieutenant Colonel Jan Ruedisueli, commander of the 306th Squadron of the Dutch Air Force stationed at Leeuwarden Air Base (the Netherlands), stated that the Dutch Air Force is using the MQ-9A to perform an increasing number of tasks within NATO. Thanks to the modernization, NATO's land and sea reconnaissance operations will be supported throughout Europe.
In 2023, the Dutch Air Force Command announced that it would double the number of MQ-9A "Riper" from four to eight units.
Currently, existing UAVs are being modernized, including their equipment with marine radars, which are already used in other countries of the world, communication repeaters to enhance interaction between all types of the Dutch Armed Forces, increased capacity fuel tanks, electronic warfare systems (ESM) and weapons. The modernization will take place in stages over the next three years.
According to GA-ASI, the modular design of the MQ-9A UAV allows you to quickly meet the full range of customer requests for necessary changes.
UAV MQ-9A "Reaper" Unit.5 can perform tasks for 27 hours, reach a speed of 240 knots and reach an altitude of up to 15 km. The device can carry a payload weighing up to 1746 kg, including 1361 kg on an external suspension. It can be equipped with an electron-optical / infrared station for reconnaissance, a synthetic aperture radar, a moving target indicator/marine radar. The MQ-9A UAV is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and avionics with triple redundancy.
As reported by CAMTO, in February 2015, the US State Department approved the potential supply of 4 MQ-9 Reaper Block UAVs to the Netherlands under the Foreign Military Sales program.5, 4 mobile ground control stations Unit.30 (optional Unit.50), other related equipment and services worth up to $339 million.
The first UAV was handed over to the Dutch Armed Forces on February 3, 2022. All MQ-9A Reapers are part of the 306th Squadron of the Netherlands Air Force, stationed at Leeuwarden Air Base (Netherlands).
In May 2023, the Dutch Secretary of State for Defense, Christoph van der Maat, announced that the Ministry of Defense was purchasing ammunition to arm the MQ-9 Riper reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles.
In August 2023, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) announced that the Dutch Air Force command decided to double the number of MQ-9A UAVs, as a result of which eight devices will be in service.
Earlier, in June 2023, the US State Department approved the potential supply of 4 MQ-9B Block UAVs to the Dutch government under the Foreign Military Sales program.5, up to 3 mobile ground control systems, up to 8 AN/DAS-4 multispectral aiming systems, up to 20 AN/APY-8 Links synthetic aperture radars, other related equipment, weapons and services worth up to $611 million.