Denmark buys four Sky Guardian drones for Arctic surveillance

MILAN — Denmark has purchased four U.S.-made long-range maritime drones from General Atomics, a step meant to boost the country’s surveillance capabilities in the Arctic region.

The Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization signed an agreement with NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency, or NSPA, to acquire four MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the government agency announced on July 22.

The systems are expected to be delivered between 2028 and 2029 and will undergo a certification process to be able to fly in national and international airspace.

Although no contract value was disclosed, DALO listed three specific areas of interest where the drones could operate: the Arctic, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea region.

The Arctic has become increasingly important for NATO’s defense posture, especially in light of growing Russian presence and activities in the region.

For example, Russian ice-class LNG tanker Alexey Kosygin, sanctioned by the United States, is expected to become operational in the second half of this year at the country’s Arctic LNG 2 plant, as reported by Reuters.

Having eyes in the sky is a priority for Arctic states, but acquiring drones that can operate in such a harsh environment can be challenging. The extreme cold impacts battery life, sensor performance and GPS signal quality.

According to a General Atomics spokesman, the MQ-9B drones are ready to operate in cold temperatures.

“The MQ-9B is perfect for the Arctic Security mission and has been designed, tested and certified for operations in extremely cold climates – it routinely flies at very high altitudes [maximum above 40,000 feet] where outside air is usually between -40 and -70 Fahrenheit (-40 and -56,6 Celsius),” spokesman C. Mark Brinkley told Defense News.

In its announcement, DALO highlighted that the drone purchase is being conducted in close cooperation with other allied NATO nations to ensure access to common knowledge.

Neighboring Norway has also shown interest in acquiring the MQ-9B, as part of its quest to get long-range maritime drones. North Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton is also in the running there.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——丹麦从通用原子公司购买了四架美国制造的远程海上无人机，此举旨在提升该国在北极地区的监视能力。

丹麦国防采购和后勤组织与北约支援和采购局（NSPA）签署协议，从通用原子航空系统公司采购四架MQ-9B“天空卫士”无人机。该政府机构于7月22日宣布了这一消息。

预计这些系统将于 2028 年至 2029 年间交付，并将经过认证程序才能在国家和国际空域飞行。

虽然没有披露合同金额，但 DALO 列出了无人机可以作业的三个具体感兴趣区域：北极、北大西洋和波罗的海地区。

北极对北约的防御态势变得越来越重要，尤其是在俄罗斯在该地区的存在和活动日益增多的情况下。

例如，据路透社报道，受美国制裁的俄罗斯冰级液化天然气运输船“阿列克谢·科西金”号预计将于今年下半年在该国的北极液化天然气2号工厂投入运营。

对于北极国家而言，拥有空中侦察能力至关重要，但获取能够在如此严酷环境下运行的无人机却并非易事。极寒天气会影响电池寿命、传感器性能和GPS信号质量。

通用原子公司发言人表示，MQ-9B无人机已做好在低温环境下运行的准备。

“MQ-9B 非常适合北极安全任务，其设计、测试和认证均针对极寒气候下的作战环境——它经常在高空飞行（最高超过 40,000 英尺），而外界气温通常在华氏 -40 度到 -70 度（摄氏 -40 度到 -56.6 度）之间，”发言人 C·马克·布林克利告诉《防务新闻》。

DALO 在公告中强调，此次无人机采购是与其他北约盟国密切合作进行的，以确保共享共同知识。

邻国挪威也对采购MQ-9B无人机表现出了兴趣，这是其寻求远程海上无人机计划的一部分。诺斯格鲁曼公司的MQ-4C“海神”无人机也在挪威的竞标之列。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。