North Dakota National Guard to assist search effort after flash flooding in central Texas

July 10, 2025

KVRR Staff,

Mq 9 Reaper Lands At Home Of 132d Wing — An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, assigned to the 119th Wing, North Dakota Air National Guard, arrives at the 132d Wing, Iowa Air National Guard base in Des Moines, Iowa, April 22, 2025. Airmen assigned to the 132d Wing operate the MQ-9 in support of global intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and precision strike missions from their facility in Des Moines. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Armani Wilson)

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota National Guard equipment and personnel will assist the search for victims of flash flooding in Texas.

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong authorized the National Guard’s MQ-9 Reaper, a remotely piloted surveillance drone, and its support team to assist in search operations in response to an Emergency Management Assistance Compact request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

The central Texas floods killed 120 people with more than 170 people still reported as missing, according to the news release.

The authorization marks the first time the state’s National Guard unmanned aerial vehicle team has supported a request for assistance through the emergency compact, Armstrong’s office said Thursday.

“Other states have come to our aid in extremely challenging times, and North Dakota stands ready to help Texas through this catastrophe however we can,” Armstrong said.

The Fargo-based 119th Wing of the North Dakota Air National Guard will remotely pilot the unmanned aircraft from Fargo, said Brig. Gen. Mitchell Johnson, adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard and director of the Department of Emergency Services.