In a press release, the Danish Defence Command announced the establishment of Squadron 729 within the Danish Air Force. The unit's task is to operate four new remotely piloted long-range drones of the MQ-9B type, and it will enhance Denmark's ability to monitor national interests in the Arctic, the North Atlantic, and the Baltic Sea.

Squadron 729 will be organisationally placed under the Air Transport Wing and will be based at Aalborg Air Base (northern Denmark). The initiative is a response to a long-standing need for improved reconnaissance and surveillance capacity, according to the Danish Defence Command.

– There has long been a desire for the Danish Armed Forces to have better capabilities to monitor and reconnoitre in the Arctic and Greenland. Squadron 729 and the new long-range aircraft are part of the answer, they state in a press release.

The drones are not only to be used for military tasks but also to support environmental monitoring, search and rescue operations, and intelligence work. The aircraft are unmanned in the air but are continuously controlled by pilots from ground-based cockpits and fly in the same airspace as civilian and military air traffic.

Approximately 100 pilots, technicians, and specialists are estimated to be needed in connection with the new squadron. The drones are of the MQ-9B SeaGuardian type and are manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. These can remain airborne for up to 24 hours at a stretch, meaning that the crews rotate during the flight.

– This requires that two crew groups rotate their positions in the cockpit approximately every two hours over a period of 10–12 hours, after which they are relieved by a new crew group that takes over the aircraft while it is still in the air, they state in the press release.

The name Squadron 729 also has historical roots. A previous unit with the same designation was active between 1955 and 1993 and played an important role in photo reconnaissance, including during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The new drones are expected to be delivered starting in 2028.