Model Description
Herpa 1/72nd scale 580915 Royal Netherlands Air Force General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper Block 5 – 306 Squadron, Leeuwarden “70 Years”. Available to pre-order at Flying Tigers.
The 306th Squadron was originally formed in 1953 at Volkel Air Force Base and initially used Republic F-84 Thunderjet fighter-bombers. After switching to the RF-84 Thunderflash three years later, the unit functioned as a pure reconnaissance squadron for most of its service. In the 1960s, the unit received RF-104 Starfighters and finally, in 1984, F-16 Fighting Falcons, which were equipped with externally mounted reconnaissance containers. After losing its reconnaissance function in 2002, the 206th squadron became the F-16 retraining unit until it was disbanded in 2010. Following the decision of the Royal Netherlands Air Force to purchase MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and attack missions, the 206th Squadron was reactivated at Leeuwarden Air Base. On the occasion of the unit’s 70th anniversary in 2023, the first MQ-9 received a special livery on its tails, which features the falcon from the unit’s coat of arms as well as the silhouettes of all the aircraft the squadron has used over the course of its seven decades of service.
RRP £68.00
