US Global Hawk spy drone guards the Black Sea

A US Global Hawk unmanned spy drone is deployed over the Black Sea just south of Russia’s naval base at Sevastopol.

The Global Hawk which has a call sign of “Forte11” cost $170 million and is piloted remotely and operates from Italy.

READ: Ocean Infinity commits to a new search for MH370 in 2023.

READ: What is this Russian VIP transport doing in Turkey?

It has an endurance of about 32 hours and can fly over 22,000km at an altitude of 18,000m.

AS well as the USAF, NATO and Japan and South Korea have the Global Hawk, while Australia and the USN have the naval version the Triton.

General characteristics *

• Crew: Unmanned – 4 personnel fly aircraft from ground station
• Length: 47 ft 7 in (14.5 m)
• Wingspan: 130 ft 11 in (39.9 m)
• Height: 15 ft 5 in (4.6 m)
• Empty weight: 14,945 lb (6,781 kg)
• Gross weight: 32,250 lb (14,630 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan engine, 6,495–8,917 lbf (28.89–39.66 kN) thrust

Performance

• Maximum speed: 357 mph…