Overview
- Denmark formally stood up Squadron 729 on February 16 at Aalborg Air Base under the Air Transport Wing to prepare for MQ-9B operations.
- The unit will field four MQ-9B SeaGuardian aircraft acquired via a 2025 NATO Support and Procurement Agency deal that also provides three ground control stations, training and maintenance.
- Initial deliveries are planned from 2028 with build-out continuing into 2029 before operational employment.
- Around 100 personnel are being recruited, with initial crews training in the United States and work under way to certify operations in regulated airspace.
- The long-endurance maritime drones will bolster surveillance across the Arctic, North Atlantic and Baltic and can support environmental monitoring and search-and-rescue.