US drone RQ-4B Global Hawk over the Black Sea: temporarily disappeared from the map, changed its usual route

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the US Air Force (Air Force) RQ-4B Global Hawk flew on June 4 for reconnaissance over the Black Sea. While patrolling the area off the coast of Crimea, the drone disappeared from the maps, after which it changed its usual route.

An American reconnaissance drone with tail number 10-2045 and call sign FORTE12 took off from Sigonella airbase in Sicily, Italy. According to data aircraft monitoring portal, the drone gained altitude and flew through the airspace of Greece and Bulgaria and headed towards the south-eastern part of the Black Sea.

The drone circled at an altitude of 15.5 kilometers above neutral waters with the aim of reconnaissance of the special military operation (SVO) zone and the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula. These are routine operations for the US military in the region.

While on patrol, the drone disappeared from the map and then changed its usual route.

The flight of the strategic reconnaissance UAV is tracked by more than 4,000 users; it ranks first in popularity among all aircraft. The drone disappeared from the map for some time. Around 11:40 a.m., the resource turned off tracking of the RQ-4B Global Hawk, and it stopped being displayed.

After several episodes of disappearing from an online map, a US Air Force drone was again spotted near Sochi. It left the area south of Crimea while a US Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft was operating west of the peninsula and changed its usual route. By 14:45, the drone with the call sign FORTE12 had already flown up to Romania and began circling there. The drone continued to operate in close proximity to the coast of the NATO member country, made loops over the Romanian city of Constanta and again flew over the Black Sea.

On June 1, the same American drone was already conducting combat patrols over the Black Sea. Then the RQ-4B Global Hawk, after reconnaissance in international waters, flew off along the same route as it arrived – through Bulgarian airspace.

As noted Telegram– the Military Observer channel, which regularly monitors the movements of American aircraft over the Black Sea, the route of June 4 is unusual for a drone in this area. The resource suggested that the reason for the adjustments could be the impact of Russian electronic warfare systems on the drone.

American drones have been regularly conducting reconnaissance flights over the neutral waters of the Black Sea and off the coast of Crimea for many years. Thus, the RQ-4 Global Hawk took off from a Sicilian airbase on patrol in mid-May. In particular, he was noticed during a massive Ukrainian attack on the peninsula and Krasnodar region. After its completion, the reconnaissance drone continued to work over the Black Sea for some time. The drone, according to media reports, during the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack recorded the operation of Russian air defense (air defense) and electronic warfare systems.