WILLEMSTAD - Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas recently received a demonstration of the Defense MQ-9 Reaper. The government emphasizes in a press release the absence of weapons with the drone.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System and is piloted by pilots from a cockpit on the ground. The drone can collect information from the air and in due course it can also be used to support the government or for investigation and supervision. Part of this involves cooperation with the United States, for example in counter-drug operations.

“The Royal Netherlands Air Force will mainly practice and train to get to know the new, unarmed aircraft,” the government said. Curaçao was chosen as the test location because of the climate and the availability of airspace.

A majority of the House of Representatives in the Netherlands wants the MQ-9 Reaper to be equipped with weapons. The Dutch cabinet will decide at a later date whether the drones will actually be armed.