After a long pause, the U.S. Air Force has resumed high-altitude drone reconnaissance flights over the Black Sea.
On May 17, a massive Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk, operating under the callsign FORTE 10, was spotted conducting surveillance operations along the Romanian coastline.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) departed from NATO’s Sigonella Air Base in Sicily, a key launch point for aerial intelligence missions across the region.
The RQ-4B Global Hawk is a strategic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform capable of monitoring vast swaths of territory. It can remain airborne for over 30 hours and is equipped with advanced sensors capable of identifying ground targets with precision.
This latest sortie follows a hiatus in U.S. ISR drone activity over the Black Sea that began after President Donald Trump returned to office. Between 2022 and 2024, such flights were routine, but recent activity had largely been carried out by British and French assets.
In a related development earlier this month, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft was reported operating near Novorossiysk in the eastern Black Sea. The Poseidon, equipped with the AN/APS-137D(V)5 radar system, can detect large naval vessels such as aircraft carriers at distances of up to 450 kilometers.
While Western aircraft operate exclusively in international airspace, Russian forces have repeatedly attempted to intimidate reconnaissance flights, prompting prior incidents and diplomatic tensions. The renewed U.S. activity signals a possible shift in Washington’s approach to Black Sea surveillance.