The latest drone flight, spotted by PlaneRadar, a Russian aviation resource, spotted the US drone taking off from the US airbase at Sigonella, Italy, flying over Greece, through Turkey, through Romania, and into Ukraine, making a loop in the country's east, and then heading southwest around the western and southern coast of Crimea toward Krasnodar, southern Russia.
07:00 мск.
— PlaneRadar (@ua4wiy_) 8 октября 2018 г.
Стратегический разведывательный беспилотный летательный аппарат RQ-4A Global Hawk, ВВС США🇺🇸, бортовой номер 04-2021, позывной #UAVGH000 взлетевший с авиабазы #Sigonella🇮🇹, в воздушном пространстве Греции🇬🇷 #UAV #RQ4A #GlobalHawk #USAF #Greece pic.twitter.com/kIeCEaUhrC
Taking off at 7 am Moscow time, the drone made it to Ukrainian airspace shortly after 9 am, spending close to twelve hours in Ukraine and the Black Sea, wrapping up its mission shortly before 10 pm Moscow time.
21:45 мск.
— PlaneRadar (@ua4wiy_) 8 октября 2018 г.
Закончил разведывательный полёт, возвращается на аэродром базирования. pic.twitter.com/NW08d9lapA
Additionally, at 18:29 Moscow time, the portal picked up a Boeing P-8A Poseidon spy plane, also flying near Crimea, and occasionally intersecting with the drone's flight path.
18:29 мск.
— PlaneRadar (@ua4wiy_) 8 октября 2018 г.
Патрульный противолодочный самолёт, #Boeing P-8A #Poseidon, ВМС США🇺🇸, с бортовым номером 169324, производит разведывательный полёт вдоль Российского🇷🇺 побережья Чёрного моря.#USNAVY #Poseidon #P8A pic.twitter.com/EjCnpcZ5k3
The US has stepped up its aerial reconnaissance along Russia's borders considerably in recent years, together with the buildup of NATO forces in the region. On Friday, an RQ-4, also taking off from Sigonella, flew through to the Baltic states, making several loops around the exclave of Kaliningrad, and then spending over three hours looping near the border next to Russia's Leningrad and Pskov regions.
