On 12 January, the German Navy placed an order with US company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for 4 MQ-9B SEAGUARDIAN systems, each consisting of 2 remotely piloted aircraft (for a total of 8 drones), intended for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare operations, along with the associated Ground Control Stations (GCS).

According to a Bundeswehr press release, the MQ-9B systems will be delivered to the German Naval Aviation (Marineflieger) starting in 2028. The acquisition process will be managed through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), which is acting on behalf of the German government under a EUR 1.52 billion contract. This package also includes spare parts for the first 2 years of SEAGUARDIAN operations, as well as operator training.

Belonging to the MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) category and to the broader family of systems designated as MQ-9B, the SEAGUARDIAN features a wingspan of over 20 m, a length of 10 m, and an endurance of approximately 30 hours. Its payload capacity exceeds 2 t and includes electronic and electro-optical sensors as well as sonobuoy launchers. The acquisition of the SEAGUARDIANs precedes by a few years that of the P-8A POSEIDON maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, the first of 8 Boeing-built aircraft having been delivered to the Marineflieger in November 2025.

Specifically, the German POSEIDONs are assigned - just as the SEAGUARDIANs and their respective GCS will be - to Marinefliegergeschwader 3 “Graf Zeppelin”, the naval air wing based at Nordholz, near Kiel, where adaptation works to accommodate the new aircraft have already begun. According to the intentions of the Deutsche Marine, the POSEIDON/SEAGUARDIAN pairing will serve to strengthen surveillance capabilities over sensitive maritime areas such as the North Sea and the North Atlantic, while also maintaining a focus on the Baltic Sea.

With particular attention to enhancing NATO maritime surveillance capabilities, the German Navy will also benefit from the sharing of lessons learned by other Allied nations operating MQ-9B systems - most notably the United Kingdom and Belgium (as well as Poland, Ed.) - thereby accelerating the learning curve for German SEAGUARDIAN pilots and system operators. 

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