{"id":19074,"date":"2026-02-20T05:23:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/19074\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T05:23:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:23:19","slug":"denmark-stands-up-mq-9b-seaguardian-squadron-to-boost-arctic-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/19074\/","title":{"rendered":"Denmark Stands Up MQ-9B SeaGuardian Squadron to Boost Arctic Monitoring"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ga-asi.com\/remotely-piloted-aircraft\/gambit-series\" aria-label=\"WhatsApp Image 2026-01-20 at 02.12.26\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-01-20-at-02.12.26.jpeg\" alt=\"\"   class=\"no-lazyload\" width=\"1470\" height=\"620\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Royal Danish Air Force has established a new squadron to enhance surveillance operations across the Arctic and Greenland, which will be equipped with four MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aerial systems.<\/p>\n<p>Denmark <a href=\"https:\/\/thedefensepost.com\/2025\/07\/23\/denmark-mq-9b-drone\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">procured four MQ-9Bs in July 2025<\/a> through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, with deliveries expected in 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The 729 Squadron will be assigned to the Air Transport Wing and operate from Aalborg Air Base. According to the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, the unit will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dr.dk\/nyheder\/indland\/forsvaret-soeger-100-personer-til-overvaagning-af-arktis-og-groenland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">staffed<\/a> by just over 100 personnel, with the first crews appointed this year before attending training courses in the US.<\/p>\n<p>Reactivated Squadron<\/p>\n<p>An earlier incarnation of 729 Squadron served from 1955 to 1993 as a photo-reconnaissance unit, undertaking missions that included intelligence support during the Cuban Missile Crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, the reactivated squadron is also expected to support environmental monitoring and search-and-rescue missions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe squadron and the new aircraft, with the designation MQ-9B SeaGuardian, is a part of the Danish Defence\u2019s ongoing build up,\u201d the air force <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forsvaret.dk\/en\/news\/2026\/ny-eskadrille-i-flyvevabnet-til-langtrakkende-droner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">stated<\/a> in a press release.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is Denmark\u2019s ambition to expand the monitoring and surveillance in the Arctic and Greenland and 729 Squadron and the new long-range aircraft will contribute to that ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>MQ-9B Sea Guardian\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The MQ-9B SeaGuardian is the maritime variant of the SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft system, missionized through a \u201cbolt-on\/bolt-off\u201d architecture that allows rapid integration of specialized sensors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These include a centerline wide-area maritime radar, an automatic identification system, electronic support measures, and a self-contained anti-submarine warfare mission kit.<\/p>\n<p>Designed for over-the-horizon operations via satellite control, the SeaGuardian can remain airborne for more than 30 hours, depending on configuration, operate in all weather conditions, and safely integrate into civilian airspace.<\/p>\n<p>The platform measures 12 meters (39 feet) in length, features a 24-meter (78-foot) wingspan, and can operate at altitudes of up to 15,000 meters (49,213 feet).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Royal Danish Air Force has established a new squadron to enhance surveillance operations across the Arctic and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[649,27,26,4579,57,13341,13342],"class_list":{"0":"post-19074","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denmark","8":"tag-arctic","9":"tag-danmark","10":"tag-denmark","11":"tag-drones","12":"tag-greenland","13":"tag-mq-9b-seaguardian","14":"tag-royal-danish-air-force"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}