MQ-9A armament upgrade for the Royal Netherlands Air Force

Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) · NL

The Royal Netherlands Air Force awarded a contract to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for enhancements to the MQ-9A Reaper drone's armament capabilities. The 125 million EUR project integrates support for GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. This upgrade allows the MQ-9A to carry up to eight Hellfire missiles.

AI summary of the notice · the full notice text is below

Awarded: 1 Jan 2023
Winner: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
Estimated value: EUR 125.0MThe buyer's estimate before any award. Not a contract.
Category: MRO & sustainment · Fixed-wing · Air

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Full notice text

The MQ-9A Armament Upgrade contract, valued at 125 million EUR, funds enhancements to the MQ-9A Reaper drone's armament capabilities, specifically integrating or expanding support for GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. This allows the MQ-9A to carry up to eight Hellfire missiles—doubling its standard capacity of four—by repurposing pylons previously used for bombs or fuel tanks via software updates like Operational Flight Program 2409, improving lethality for precision strikes, close air support, and anti-armor missions while maintaining payload flexibility.

Machine-translated into English from the original notice. Read the original.

Procedure & source details

Original title: MQ-9A Armament Upgrade (GBU-12 and Hellfire)
Contract type: Development
Mission: Combat · Weapons-capable · Fixed-wing
End use: Military

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Compiled from research reporting · updated 29 Oct 2026

Not from an official registry filing, so check the details against the original. 6 other sources add to it.