US RQ-4B FORTE10 Flies Its First 2026 Mission Across the Mediterranean and Black Sea, Confirming Persistent US ISR Pressure on NATO’s Eastern Flank

Today, a United States Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk (reg. 09-2039 – c/s FORTE10) carried out its first tracked mission of 2026, flying from NAS Sigonella toward the Black Sea in a long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sortie that once again underlines Washington’s focus on Europe’s eastern approaches. The flight, observed this morning and continuing into the early afternoon, covered a vast arc from the central Mediterranean, past Greece and Bulgaria, before reaching its operational area over the western Black Sea.

The mission is notable not only for its geographic scope but also for its timing. As the first FORTE mission recorded this year, it follows weeks of heightened attention on Russian military activity across the Black Sea region and comes after repeated ISR sorties by both US and NATO assets in recent days. The RQ-4B’s appearance today fits into a well-established pattern: persistent, high-altitude surveillance designed to provide long-endurance coverage of sensitive maritime and coastal areas without entering contested airspace.

After transiting the central Mediterranean, the aircraft proceeded eastward, passing south of Greece before turning north-east across Bulgarian airspace. Once over the Black Sea, FORTE10 began operating in international airspace, where US Global Hawks routinely collect radar, signals and imagery intelligence. These missions are particularly valuable given the ongoing restrictions on naval and aerial access in parts of the basin, and they allow continuous monitoring of military movements, naval deployments and air defense activity along Russia’s southern flank.

The route itself highlights the flexibility of the RQ-4B platform. By using NATO and partner airspace, the aircraft can rapidly reposition from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, linking two theaters that are increasingly interconnected from a strategic standpoint. What happens in the eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea is no longer viewed in isolation, and today’s sortie visually reinforces that concept.

While no specific target of interest can be confirmed from open sources, the presence of FORTE10 over the Black Sea traditionally coincides with periods of increased naval or air activity, exercises, or heightened alert levels along the Russian-Ukrainian front and in Crimea. As in previous cases, the mission should be read as part of a broader, continuous ISR posture rather than as a response to a single event.

In the broader picture, the first FORTE mission of 2026 sends a clear signal of continuity. Despite the turn of the year, US long-range surveillance operations over Europe remain unchanged in intensity and intent. High-altitude drones like the RQ-4B continue to play a central role in providing situational awareness to US and allied decision-makers, ensuring that developments along NATO’s eastern flank are closely watched from the very first days of the new year.