A very long day for MAGMA

On June 16, we tracked a highly unusual mission carried out by a NATO Northrop Grumman RQ-4D Phoenix drone (reg. MM-AV-SA0017, callsign MAGMA10). The unmanned aerial vehicle took off from Sigonella Air Base in Sicily and initially headed south, conducting a surveillance pass off the coast of Libya.

After this initial phase, the drone reversed course and turned north toward the Black Sea. Once over the region, it carried out an extensive signals intelligence (SIGINT) mission across the entire basin, spending a significant amount of time in the eastern area. During this phase, the drone briefly squawked transponder code 7600, indicating a temporary radio communication failure. However, the issue did not interrupt the overall progress of the mission, which continued without incident.

Following the completion of its Black Sea operations, the RQ-4D continued its journey north and eventually reached Finland. There, it will participate in NATO’s Atlantic Trident 2025 exercise, a major multinational training event focused on integration and interoperability.

What makes this mission particularly notable is that, unlike previous similar operations, the drone did not return to Sigonella. Instead, it landed at Tampere Air Base in Finland, from where it is expected to operate in the coming days.