RNLAF ordered the first four UAVs in 2018 with a price tag of $123 million. The UAV deliveries were delayed. At the same time, the first UAV arrived at the Leeuwarden air base in the north of the country. The other three MQ-9As are still based at Hato airport in Curaçao in the Caribbean. These three will soon be ‘operated’ via a Ground Control Station (GSC) at Leeuwarden Air Base. Following the first delivery, RNLAF decided to double the MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers they will procure, taking the total order from four to eight UAVs.
The MQ-9As will be equipped with Electronic Intelligence, a communications relay, and Maritime Radar payloads. RNLAF wants to arm the UAVs in future. According to the State Secretary of Defence’s statement at the Dutch House of Representatives, there are plans to buy ammunition for the MQ-9As. The ammunition is expected to be fully deployable in 2028.
MQ-9A Block 5 UAV has an endurance of up to 27 hours. The UAV can reach a speed of 240 KTAS and operate at an altitude of 40,000 feet.
