The Danish Air Force is looking for about 100 new recruits of different ranks to form the human part of a new air force squadron. Eskadrille 729 will be based at Aalborg Airbase, but its tasks will span way into the Arctic.
Central star of the arctic spy squadron — or rather: aerial reconnaissance and intelligence unit – will be the MQ-9B SeaGuardian. In July 2025, the Scandinavian nation ordered four such large unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the San Diego, USA, based General Atomics. The aircraft have a wingspan of 24 metres, a length of 12 metres and can stay airborne for 40 hours in a row.
Photo reconnaissance squadron 729 of the Danish Air Force was decommissioned in 1993, after the last flight of its then SAAB Draken combat jet. It was initially founded in 1955. The Danish Armed Forces launched the recruitment campaign for the new 729 in February.
North Sea and Baltic Sea
Apart from the Arctics all the way to Greenland, Esk 729 will also be tasked with keeping an eye on the Danish and NATO interests in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. From 2028, the SeaGuardians will replace the four ageing manned aircraft of the Bombardier CL-604 Challenger type in Danish Air Force service. | © 2025 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Image: computer rendering of the MQ-9B SeaGuardian in Danish livery by Forsvaret