A USAF RQ-4B Global Hawk – an American reconnaissance drone – appeared over the Suwałki Gap on Wednesday, 19 November. “It was one of NATO’s longer missions over Europe,” reported the UK Defence Journal.
The British outlet stated that the aircraft took off from the NAS Sigonella airbase in Sicily, then headed over the Tyrrhenian Sea and, flying over France and Germany, entered Polish airspace. The drone monitored the area between the borders of Poland, Lithuania, and Russia, known as the Suwałki Gap. As noted by the UK Defence Journal, it is “a region under strict NATO surveillance.”
The Global Hawk is a reconnaissance drone measuring 14 meters in length with a 40-meter wingspan, powered by a single Rolls-Royce turbofan engine. The outlet reported that the aircraft can climb to about 18,000 meters – higher than passenger planes, which fly below 14,000 meters. “(…) its sensors work over a wide area with little risk of interference,” the report emphasized.
“At that height, it cruises at roughly 310 knots and can stay airborne for more than thirty hours. With a range of roughly 12,300 nautical miles, the Global Hawk can leave Sicily, sweep half a continent and return without refuelling,”
the portal stated.
According to the report, the drone is equipped with “a suite of synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical and infrared cameras, along with signals intelligence equipment.”
“These systems gather high-resolution imagery, thermal signatures, radar maps, and electronic emissions, giving analysts real-time detail on military movements across borders,”
the outlet reported.
The Global Hawk’s flight is fully automated – the aircraft follows a pre-programmed route. Ground operators handle the drone’s takeoff and landing, as well as the onboard equipment.
“Flights of this kind form part of the regular US and NATO intelligence picture around Russia, offering long-range awareness without the risk to aircrew that comes with traditional manned reconnaissance aircraft,”
explained the UK Defence Journal.
Profiles tracking air traffic also reported the Global Hawk entering Polish airspace on 19 November.
The unmanned aircraft regularly appears in Polish airspace, monitoring, among other areas, the Polish-Belarusian border.