Freshly Delivered MQ-9 Drones Ready for Service in Caribbean

The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) has received their order of 3 MQ-9A Block 5 Aircraft, and plan to begin flight operations later this month as they put the drones to task as ISR assets in Curacao. 

The delivery included a pair of mobile ground control stations from the General Atomics catalog which will soon be on their way to their new home. The RNLAF will use their brand new MQ-9A Reapers as long-range, persistent surveillance and mission support infrastructure guarding national interests for the Netherlands wherever needed. The proud operator of the new kit, Lieutenant-Colonel Boudewijn Roddenhof, expressed his unit's enthusiasm for their new toys.  

“We are excited to receive our aircraft and start operating with them straightaway," said the commander. "The MQ-9A Reaper will be very valuable for information-driven operations with the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Netherlands’ armed forces in general. We will operationally test and evaluate the system during our deployment to Curacao and expect it to be a valuable asset for the Commander of Netherlands Forces in the Caribbean." 

The new Reapers were sent under the United States Foreign Military Sales Program, an order for 4 MQ-9A Block 5 aircraft and 2 control stations. The newest iteration of the classic MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Aircraft has improved systems, with the greatest endurance, speed, and payload of all previous models, with particular attention paid towards the addition of redundant systems where previous experience had shown them most vital. The Block 5 boasts a fault-tolerant control system, with triple redundancy in its avionics system architecture. For flights up to 27 hours, flying more than 240 knots per hour up to 50,000 feet, the Block 5 Reaper offers over 3,850 pounds of payload capacity. With those specs wrapped in an affordable, financially defensible package, it's little surprise that the FMS program continues to move metal even for aircraft that could seem a little long in the tooth, when new systems are always right around the corner. 

FMI: www.ga-asi.com