U.S. Spy Drones Over The Black Sea

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Business Insider/The Aviationist: US intelligence-gathering aircraft are flying over the Black Sea more and more — and Russia is responding

It’s no secret that US RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) belonging to the 9th Operations Group/Detachment 4th of the US Air Force deployed to Sigonella from Beale Air Force Base, California, frequently operate over the Black Sea.

The first reports of the American gigantic drone’s activities near Crimea and Ukraine date back to April 2015, when Gen. Andrei Kartapolov, Chief of the Main Department for Operations at the Russian General Staff, said that American high-altitude, long-range drones were regularly spotted over the Black Sea.

Still, it wasn’t until Oct. 15 that one RQ-4 popped up on flight-tracking websites, as it performed its 17-hour mission over Bulgaria to the Black Sea, close to Crimea, off Sochi, over Ukraine and then back to Sigonella. It was the first “public” appearance of the Global Hawk in that area and a confirmation of a renewed (or at least “open”) interest in the Russian activities in the Crimean area.

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WNU Editor: Thsi has become the new normal.