Three Dutch Reaper drones will be deployed in Romania starting early next year. Unarmed and unmanned aircraft are used to gather information along the eastern border of NATO territory.
Defense Minister Ollongren wrote to the House of Representatives: “This is of great importance in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
According to Ollongren, in the NATO context, drones can help prevent “possible misunderstandings and the associated potential tension.” The Dutch aircraft will be used abroad for the first time.
air force base
135 military personnel are needed for the operation, which will last at least 6 and at most 12 months. About forty of them are heading to an air base in Romania to support the Reapers. The rest remain in the Netherlands to fly the planes and process the information collected. Ollongren writes that the annual cost of using unmanned aerial vehicles reaches 14 million euros.
There are currently four MQ-9 Reaper drones in the Netherlands, with four more to be added in 2026. Dutch drones are not currently armed, but the Ministry of Defense will equip them with bombs and missiles within a few years.
Source: NOS

Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.