The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) is working with manufacturer General Atomics to improve and expand its fleet of MQ-9A drones. Last year, the RNLAF announced that it would double the number of its drones from four to eight, and over the next three years they will also be equipped with additional capabilities such as a maritime radar, a communication relay, fuel tanks for longer ranges, electronic support measures (ESM) equipment and weapons.
“The RNLAF is using the MQ-9A for more and more NATO-missions,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jan Ruedisueli, Commander of RNLAF Squadron 306, adding: “With these upgrades, we will support NATO’s ISR and maritime surveillance missions across Europe.” Jaime Walters, Vice President of International Strategic Development at General Atomics said: “One of the key aspects of our aircraft is the modularity of our platforms, which allows them to quickly meet the full spectrum of customer requirements.”
The MQ-9A Block 5 has a payload capacity of more than 1,700 kilograms, including 1,361 kilograms of external stores. It offers long endurance, surveillance capability with full-motion video, Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator/Maritime Radar and ESM. It has also been equipped with a communication relay specifically designed to connect all services of the Dutch Ministry of Defense. As a highly reliable aircraft, the MQ-9A Block 5 is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and a triple-redundant avionics system architecture.
