General Atomics to provide drones to the Netherlands air force

18 July 2018

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc said on Tuesday it had been selected by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to provide unmanned aircraft to the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

The maker of the U.S. military’s Predator drones said it would offer a Predator B variant of the remotely piloted aircraft, called MQ-9 Reaper.

The deal for the drones was first approved as a Foreign Military Sale by the U.S. State Department in 2015, when it was valued at $339 million. No value was disclosed on Tuesday.

The Dutch government said the intent to purchase was announced in 2016 as part of the Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle program. Sources had told Reuters on Friday the deal would be signed.

The multi-mission Predator B is a long-endurance unmanned aircraft that can be used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as targeting missions.

The aircraft has a payload capacity of about 1,747 kilograms with a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet, or 13700 meters, and can stay aloft for up to 26 hours, General Atomics said.

Other countries operating Predator drones include France, Italy, Britain and United Arab Emirates.

 

Source: reuters.com