DutchNews.nl,
Thursday 21 November 2013
The Dutch
defence ministry is buying four unmanned aircraft from an American company at a
cost of up to €250m.
The MQ-9
Reaper drones are being bought ‘off the shelf’ and must be fully operational by
the end of 2017, defence minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told parliament in
a statement on Thursday.
The drones
can also carry weapons but the Netherlands does not need that capacity at
present, a ministry spokesman told Nos television later. ‘That is not the
intention but it can change in the future,’ the broadcaster quoted the
spokesman as saying.
Soldiers
The US uses
the MQ-9 Reaper in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The Netherlands will use it in
areas where Dutch troops are operating. The ground equipment and four aircraft
will cost between €100m and €250m but the price is being kept secret out of
commercial considerations, Nos said.
The
Netherlands already has smaller drones and the defence ministry said in 2011 it
planned to buy larger ones. In the Netherlands itself they have been used for
some time to spot marijuana plantations.
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