This morning, a USAF Northrop Grumman RQ-4B (callsign FORTE12), departed from NAS Sigonella, is orbiting an unusual area, the Ionian Sea.
We don’t know what the nature of this flight, whether it is a test flight (but it would seem strange given that it’s Sunday) or whether it’s related to the presence of Russian ships in the area (but P-8As could take off from Sigonella).
However, it is interesting to note the wide area that the Global Hawk can cover with its sensors, from Libya (an area particularly under surveillance in recent days) to the mouth of the Adriatic Sea (where, further north, the USS Truman is underway).