USAF RQ-4B completes over 24-hour mission near Russian naval bases

A USAF Northrop Grumman RQ-4B (reg. 11-2046 – c/s FORTE10) is currently returning to NAS Sigonella after completing a mission lasting more than 24 hours.

The American drone took off at around 01:30 CEST last night, heading north before reaching northern Finland. There, it orbited for more than five hours just a few kilometers from the Russian border.

The area is of particular interest to NATO intelligence, as it hosts several naval bases of the Russian Northern Fleet. In recent days, we have tracked numerous missions by U.S., Norwegian, and British P-8A Poseidon aircraft tasked with monitoring Russian submarines operating in the Barents Sea, where the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ford is also currently deployed.

Only yesterday, an American Poseidon spent several hours flying off the Russian bases, including Severomorsk, home to the majority of Russia’s submarine fleet.

It is worth noting that such a mission would not have been possible just a few years ago, as Finland was not yet part of NATO. Helsinki’s accession to the Alliance followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—a war that, according to Vladimir Putin, was meant to prevent NATO’s expansion.