A US Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drone, which was patrolling the airspace over international waters in the Black Sea near Crimea, sent an emergency signal before landing on the Italian island of Sicily, according to an online map from the Flightradar24 tracking service.
The SquawkAlert bot on the X social media platform also reported the US drone's distress signal.
According to the tracking service, the drone with the call sign Blkcat6 signaled 7700, which means "general emergency," before landing. There is no additional information about the reason for the signal.
The drone landed at the Sigonella naval air base.
The MQ-4C Triton drone is designed for long-range reconnaissance. Its maximum speed is 575 kilometers per hour and its range is 15,100 kilometers. It was developed on the basis of the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone.