The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) will double the number of MQ-9A Remotely Piloted Aircraft they will procure, taking the total order from four to eight aircraft.
This new order will help the country in increasing the maritime and overland intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance (ISR) capacity.
The first four MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers and associated Ground Control Stations were delivered to the RNLAF in 2022.
The delivery of the MQ-9As, their Ground Control Stations, and support equipment is part of a USAF Foreign Military Sale to the RNLAF.
About MQ-9A
MQ-9A is designed and developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI).
It has endurance of up to 27 hours, is capable of speeds up to 240 KTAS and can operate up to 40,000 feet.
Further, it has a 3,850-pound (1,746-kilogram) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms) of external stores.
Also, it provides a long-endurance, persistent surveillance capability with Full-Motion Video and Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator/Maritime Radar.
An extremely reliable aircraft, MQ-9A Block 5 is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and triple redundant avionics system architecture. It is engineered to meet and exceed manned aircraft reliability standards.
Source: https://www.ga.com/netherlands-increases-order-of-mq-9a-from-ga-asi
