A long and unusual mission for MAGMA

The NATO Northrop Grumman RQ-4D (reg. MM-AV-SA0017 – c/s MAGMA10) took off from Sigonella AB to carry out a mission spanning two different theaters.

The first part of the mission took place over the Black Sea, where the drone pushed as far east as the boundaries of the Ukrainian, Russian, and Turkish FIRs. While operating in that area, the Phoenix squawked 7600, indicating a radio communication failure. Nevertheless, the issue did not prevent it from continuing its mission.

The RQ-4D then proceeded south, crossing Turkish airspace and heading toward the Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Syria. This route is unusual, although it has been observed at least once before. Typically, Turkey does not allow the overflight of unmanned SIGINT-capable assets unless they include Turkish personnel. NATO’s crewed Boeing E-3A AWACS based in Konya are regularly permitted, while USAF Global Hawks or similar platforms are usually not.

In this case, however, overflight was granted — possibly indicating that at least one member of the drone’s “crew” was Turkish.

The RQ-4D then carried out a surveillance mission off the Syrian coast before returning to Sicily, still squawking 7600.