The State Department approved a possible $339 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) request to the Netherlands for four MQ-9 Reapers and associated equipment, parts and logistical support.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the potential sale on Feb. 6.
Photo: U.S. Air Force
The primary contractor would be General Atomics.
The requested FMS would include 4 MQ-9 Block 5 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft, 4 Mobile Ground Control Stations Block 30 (option Block 50), 6 Honeywell TPE331-10T Turboprop Engines (4 installed and 2 spares), 2 SATCOM Earth Terminal Sub-System, 6 AN/DAS-1 Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems (MTS)-B, 4 General Atomics Lynx (exportable) Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving, Target Indicator (SAR/GMTI) Systems with Maritime Wide Area Search capability, 2 Ruggedized Aircraft Maintenance Test Stations, 20 ARC-210 RT-1939 Radio Systems, 8 KY-1006 Common Crypto Modules, 8 Ku-band Link-Airborne Communications Systems, 4 KIV-77 Mode 4/5 Identification Friend or Foe, 4 AN/APX-119 Mode 4/5 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Transponder (515 Model), and 14 Honeywell [HON] H-764 Adaptive Configurable Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Guidance Units (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) (12 installed and 2 spares).
The sale would also include an Initial Spares Package (ISP) and Readiness Spares Package (RSP) to support 3,400 Flight Hours for a three-year period.
The FMS would also contain U.S. Government and contractor engineering, logistics, and technical support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support.
“This potential sale will enhance the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability of the Dutch military in support of national, NATO, UN-mandated, and other coalition operations. Commonality of ISR capabilities will greatly increase interoperability between U.S and Dutch military and peacekeeping forces,” DSCA said in a statement.
Because the Netherlands is both an ally of the United States and a major political and economic power in Europe,“it is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist the Netherlands to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” DSCA said.
Implementation of the FMS may require U.S. contractor representatives to make multiple trips to the Netherlands and potentially deployed locations to provide initial launch recovery and maintenance support.