NATO drone conducts ‘unusual’ patrol off Libyan coast

A NATO surveillance drone carried out an extended reconnaissance mission off Libya’s coast after experiencing communication problems during a flight towards the Black Sea, according to Italian aviation monitoring website ItamilRadar.

The Northrop Grumman RQ-4D Phoenix drone took off from Sigonella Air Base in Sicily on Thursday morning, initially bound for the Black Sea region. The mission marked the first appearance of this type of aircraft on radar systems for several months, the website reported.

After entering Greek airspace, the drone began flying in circular patterns, which ItamilRadar suggested could indicate technical difficulties. Despite the apparent malfunction, the aircraft continued towards its original destination.

The drone subsequently transmitted an emergency “7600” squawk code whilst over the Black Sea, signalling a loss of radio communication with ground control. This prompted mission controllers to abort the operation and order the aircraft’s return to Sicily.

However, during the return flight over the Mediterranean, the communication issues appeared to be resolved. The drone then diverted southward and began conducting surveillance operations along the Libyan coastline instead.

ItamilRadar noted that the NATO mission coincided with a separate, extended operation by a US Navy MQ-4C Triton drone over Libya. The website described the simultaneous missions as “particularly interesting”, though it provided no further details about potential co-ordination between the operations.

The incident highlights the complex nature of international surveillance operations in the Mediterranean region, where NATO and US forces regularly conduct reconnaissance missions to monitor regional security developments.