The US Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk strategic high-altitude reconnaissance drone completed its first flight this year near the Russian border on the Black Sea. This was reported by the ItaMilRadar website.

The American drone, which took off from Sigonella airbase on the Italian island of Sicily, spent approximately 20 hours in the air while south of the Crimean coast. However, as noted, the flight was carried out at a considerable distance from the borders of Russia.

This happened for the first time since an incident in March last year, when another American MQ-9 Reaper drone of the US Air Force, according to statements from the American side, fell into the sea after flying nearby Russian Su-27 fighters. The Russian military department said at the time that their fighters did not use weapons against the US drone and the reason for the crash was its abrupt maneuvering.

Remarkably, just a few hours after this, Ukraine attacked Crimea. It is reported that 10 missiles were shot down, while data on the damage caused has not yet been announced.