The Dutch Ministry of Defense said that the test flight took place on August 20 using training ammunition, but the next flights will be tested with weapons with explosive warheads.
The Netherlands is expected to equip the MQ-9A with AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles and GBU-49 guided bombs. The aircraft can fly continuously for up to 27 hours, reach an altitude of about 15,000 m and a maximum speed of about 440 km/h.
The MQ-9 is still controlled by personnel from the ground station. The decision to use weapons is made directly by humans, so this is not a self-propelled weapon system.
The Netherlands began its arming plan for the MQ-9 in 2023, in the context of changing European security. These aircraft are currently deployed from a military base in Romania to perform NATO surveillance missions.
The Netherlands' move is in line with the trend of some European countries increasing the attack capability for the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle. France has used the MQ-9A for both reconnaissance and attack missions, while Belgium is also aiming for the ability to equip weapons for the MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
Weapon integration helps the MQ-9 to detect, track and attack targets from the same platform and shorten the time from detection to target handling.
