US reconnaissance drone flies near Russian borders

A NATO RQ-4B Global Hawk reconnaissance drone is operating near Russia’s borders.

The American surveillance drone took off several hours ago from NATO’s Sigonella naval air base in Sicily, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Telegram channel SHOT.

It then flew over Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, made a wide loop over Poland, and entered the airspace of Latvia and Lithuania.

The channel said the drone flew over nine countries and is now conducting reconnaissance over Estonia, adding that it may be linked to Ukraine’s large-scale overnight attack on Russia.

The US RQ-4B Global Hawk is one of the largest and most recognisable strategic reconnaissance drones in service, featuring a wingspan of roughly 40 meters and a takeoff weight of up to 14.6 tonnes.

It can operate at altitudes of around 18,000 meters, offers a flight range exceeding 12,300 nautical miles (about 23,000 kilometres), and is capable of staying aloft for as long as 36 hours.

In late 2024, a Global Hawk was recorded flying near the border region of Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave (via Poland and Lithuania), using the so-called “Suwalki corridor.” The drone — taking off from Naval Air Station Sigonella (Sicily) — reportedly looped close to Russian and Belarusian territory before returning.

In August 2024, an almost-24-hour Global Hawk mission covered a broad span of Russia’s western frontier, flying along the border from the Baltic region southwards — demonstrating NATO’s ability to monitor large stretches of Russia’s western periphery in a single sortie.

Over the Black Sea and near Crimea, Global Hawk flights have become a recurring element since at least 2015. For instance, a publicly visible sortie was logged in April 2015 over the Black Sea near Crimea — marking the beginning of increasingly regular NATO unmanned flights in that strategic zone.

More recently, in 2025, Global Hawk operations resumed over the Black Sea after a period of lower activity, again highlighting continued NATO surveillance of maritime zones adjacent to Russia-occupied Crimea and Russian coastal areas.

By Jeyhun Aghazada