NATO RQ-4D Phoenix Drone Conducts Reconnaissance Flight Over the Black Sea

The RQ-4D Phoenix, NATO’s strategic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system, conducted a reconnaissance flight over the Black Sea.

This was confirmed by the flight-tracking service AirNav Radar.

The drone entered the Black Sea via Bulgarian airspace and carried out surveillance operations in international waters between Bulgaria and Türkiye.

The tracked aircraft, RQ-4D Phoenix (MM-AV-SA-0014), departed from Sigonella Air Base in Italy.

Although the aircraft is identified as belonging to the Italian Air Force, the drone itself is part of NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system, which is responsible for the Alliance’s ground surveillance and intelligence operations.

The purpose of the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) program is to provide NATO with a system that supports military operations and gives the Alliance’s land, air, and naval commanders situational awareness of developments in any region of the world.

The main operating base for the AGS system is Sigonella Air Base in Sicily, operated by the Italian Air Force.

Sigonella Air Base regularly hosts the Alliance’s strategic airborne intelligence assets, which monitor the situation along NATO’s eastern flank and in the vicinity of active operational areas.

Such flights provide continuous surveillance of Russian force movements and collect intelligence for the command of allied and partner defense forces.

The RQ-4D Phoenix (MM-AV-SA-0014) became the first aircraft of its type – and the first of five – to undergo a technical upgrade in 2022, during which it was equipped with a maritime surveillance mode.

The upgrade enhanced the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force (NAGSF)’s ability to detect and track surface vessels, as well as identify non-cooperative targets using the Maritime Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (MISAR).

Militarnyi previously reported that Russian fighter jets performed an unsafe interception of a British RC-135W Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft during a flight over the Black Sea.