NATO surveillance drone signals communications failure mid-flight

A NATO Northrop Grumman RQ-4D Phoenix strategic surveillance drone transmitted a signal indicating a communications system malfunction during a flight over international waters, TASS learnt from a source in EU air traffic services.

“At present, the drone is operating over international waters in the Mediterranean Sea near the island of Crete, where it is flying a square-shaped pattern while transmitting a signal indicating communications problems,” the source said.

According to him, the Italian Air Force-operated drone took off from the Sigonella air base in Sicily before flying to the Black Sea, where it conducted a west-to-east and return flight over international waters in the southern part of the basin.

“The aircraft was operating at an altitude of more than 16 kilometres, without entering the airspace of any country and outside the corridors designated for civilian aviation,” the source added.

The mission followed a route similar to that regularly flown by the NATO Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis II surveillance and targeting aircraft, which has been operating over the Baltic region, including areas near the borders of Russia’s Kaliningrad region, since the morning of July 21.

The source did not specify the possible reasons for the communications malfunction signal. 

However, he noted that one of the functions of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4D Phoenix, whose last recorded flight over the Black Sea was on July 17, is to collect imagery across vast areas and transmit data in real time. “The drone continues to circle over the Mediterranean Sea,” the source said.

By Jeyhun Aghazada