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US Global Hawk Drone Returns to Black Sea Patrol After Nearly a Year—What Changed?

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
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US Global Hawk Drone Returns to Black Sea Patrol After Nearly a Year—What Changed?
A RQ-4 Global Hawk is seen on the tarmac of the Yokota US air base in Tokyo, Japan, on May 21, 2022. (Source: Getty Images)

After an 11-month hiatus, the United States has resumed strategic reconnaissance drone flights over the Black Sea, signaling a potential shift in Washington’s posture toward Russia’s war on Ukraine, Defense Blog reported on May 17.

A Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk, operating under the callsign FORTE10, flew a high-altitude surveillance mission over the Black Sea on May 17, according to flight tracking data from Flightradar24.

This marks the first reported Global Hawk mission in the Black Sea region since June 2024. The return of US surveillance flights comes after nearly a year of relying primarily on British and French ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) assets. Drone operations were largely suspended following President Donald Trump’s return to office in early 2024.

US RQ-4B Global Hawk drone, operating under the callsign FORTE10 during a surveillance mission over the Black Sea on May 17, 2025. (Source: Flightradar)
US RQ-4B Global Hawk drone, operating under the callsign FORTE10 during a surveillance mission over the Black Sea on May 17, 2025. (Source: Flightradar)

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) departed from NATO’s Sigonella Air Base in Sicily and flew along the Romanian coast at an altitude of approximately 15,500 meters (51,000 feet), around 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Russian-occupied Crimea.

Military analysts say the timing is notable. The May 17 flight came just one day after a high-profile but ultimately unsuccessful round of Turkish-mediated peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul.

The first face-to-face meeting between the two sides in over three years lasted less than two hours and yielded only one result: an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.

The RQ-4B Global Hawk is the largest production UAV in the world, with a wingspan of nearly 40 meters (130 feet). Designed for strategic reconnaissance, the drone can stay airborne for over 30 hours and collect intelligence across an area the size of Iceland—approximately 100,000 square kilometers (40,000 square miles)—in a single day.

Equipped with cutting-edge technology including synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical, and infrared sensors, the Global Hawk is capable of monitoring air defense systems, military aircraft, ship movements, and battlefield logistics in real-time.

Earlier, a US Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine warfare aircraft was also observed operating near Novorossiysk in the eastern Black Sea. The Poseidon, armed with an AN/APS-137D (V)5 radar system, can detect large surface vessels such as aircraft carriers from as far as 450 kilometers (280 miles) away.

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