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In the first time since President Trump returned to office, the United States has redeployed a high-altitude surveillance drone to the Black Sea region amid issues with Ukraine-Russia peace talks.
Some shit you should know before you read: Back when President Biden was in office, it was common for US surveillance drones, particularly the RQ-4B Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper, to operate over the Black Sea as part of routine intelligence-gathering missions aimed at monitoring Russian military activity near Crimea. These drones typically launched from NATO bases in Sicily and conducted surveillance along NATO’s eastern flank, particularly near Romanian airspace and international waters off the Crimean Peninsula. The operations, while legal under international law, frequently pissed off the Russians, and ultimately led to a notable incident in 2023 when a Russian Su-27 fighter intercepted and damaged an MQ-9 Reaper drone, forcing it to crash into the sea. Russia consistently accused these drones of aiding Ukrainian strikes by providing real-time intelligence. Following President Trump’s return to office, these drone flights over the Black Sea stopped.
What’s going on now: In a notable development, the Pentagon redeployed a high-altitude RQ-4B Global Hawk surveillance drone to the Black Sea region for the first time since President Trump returned to office. The drone, operating under the call sign “Forte10,” was observed by aviation tracking service Flightradar24 conducting reconnaissance missions near the coastline of Romania—well within international airspace but in close proximity to the contested region around Crimea.
The aircraft, which launched from NATO’s Sigonella Naval Air Base in Sicily, flew a mission lasting several hours. These drones are equipped with state-of-the-art sensors capable of collecting real-time intelligence on military aircraft, air defense systems, and naval movements, making them a critical tool in monitoring Russian activity in and around the Black Sea.
This renewed deployment follows issues in peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia. On May 16, direct negotiations were held in Istanbul for the first time since 2022, but the talks ended without a ceasefire agreement after Russian President Putin rejected Ukrainian President Zelensky’s proposal for a 30-day truce. The day after the talks failed, Russia launched its largest drone attack of the war, with 273 drones targeting multiple Ukrainian regions.
President Trump, while maintaining a public posture of neutrality in mediation efforts, recently suggested that Putin may be intentionally prolonging the war for strategic advantage.
