The pilot stays on the ground.

- I agree that most people use the term drones in everyday speech, but personally I prefer the term "remotely piloted aircraft", says Major Mark Christiansen, commander of the Air Force's new surveillance squadron 729, based at Air Station Aalborg under the Air Transport Wing, which already operates the Air Force's Hercules and Challenger aircraft.

- Because in reality, they are far from the drones that both the defense and other authorities use when they need to get a quick overview of an area.

- The new drones are actually real aircraft - with the only small difference being that there is no crew on board. The crew sits in a cockpit on the ground, explains Mark Christiansen in a solo interview with Sermitsiaq.

Large aircraft

The Danish Defense has ordered four drones from the American weapons manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. The choice has been made for the MQ-9B SeaGuardian, which is best compared in size to a Challenger aircraft. The wingspan is slightly larger – 24 meters – while the body is slightly smaller – 12 meters. Propulsion is created by a propeller, which, like the engine, is mounted at the rear of the fuselage.

The drone resembles a real plane – except that where the cockpit normally is, there is a box filled with radar equipment – ​​and underneath the drone is even more surveillance equipment – ​​a FLIR camera, radars and other equipment that can be used for both surveillance, intelligence activities and SAR operations.

The crew of the new drones consists of a pilot, a sensor operator and a number of payload operators for the many sensors and the radar.

- The remotely piloted aircraft are controlled from the ground, where the pilot and the sensor operator sit next to each other in a traditional cockpit that is very similar to a flight simulator, says Mark Christiansen.

- It will be just like a regular flight, where the pilots will communicate with air traffic control and other aircraft in the same way as if they were on board.

Flight time of over 24 hours

Mark Christiansen comes from a position at Karup Air Station, where he has been part of the project group that has been responsible for the purchase of the new remotely piloted aircraft – or drones.

- One of the crucial priorities for us has been flight time – and here the new aircraft are something very special. They can stay in the air for over 24 hours without refueling or stopping.

- This is a feature that we believe will be of great importance, among other things, in connection with SAR operations, where the MQ-9B can stay in the air over an accident site at sea for hours – thus ensuring that the rescue crew knows exactly the extent of the accident and the weather situation, even while they are en route.

The long flight time is partly due to the shape of the remotely piloted aircraft.

- If you look at the MQ-9B, it has some of the same characteristics as a glider with long narrow wings – and that is, among other things, what allows the new aircraft to stay in the air almost without using fuel, explains Mark Christiansen.

- The fuel is ordinary Jet-A1, so there is nothing to prevent the MQ-9B from landing at any airbase where the runway is long enough – for example, Kangerlussuaq – as long as there is a reception team that can handle the situation.

However, Mark Christiansen will not reveal whether reception facilities may need to be established in Kangerlussuaq for the new drones.

- These are some operational considerations that we do not share with the public – so I can neither confirm nor deny that.

100 new employees

It is now clear that a home base for the long-range drones will be established at Aalborg Air Station.

- It will be a fairly large building. A hangar will be built for the four remotely piloted aircraft. The squadron will have approximately 100 employees – primarily intelligence officers, pilots and flight technicians. The new building will, among other things, accommodate three workplaces for pilots and technicians on flights in Greenland and the North Atlantic. The entire construction will be completed by the end of 2028, when the new MQ-9Bs arrive from the factory in the USA.

Mark Christiansen comes to the new surveillance squadron with a solid aviation background. He has been flying helicopters for 25 years – most recently the EH101 rescue helicopters, of which there are three on duty in Denmark 24 hours a day. On the other hand, Mark Christiansen has no experience with the Arctic and Greenland.

- On the other hand, they do at the Air Transport Wing, so I will also be on the learning bench and absorb all their knowledge about flying in the Arctic and Greenland. Because they are the experts – and I am willing to learn, says Mark Christiansen.

The new Squadron 729 is actually not new to the Danish Air Force at all. The squadron existed during the Cold War in the years 1955 – 1993, when they used photo planes to collect information over the Baltic Sea in particular. At that time, the squadron had the call sign Hawkeyes – Høgeøjne – and that will also be the drone squadron’s call sign.