US RQ-4B Global Hawk Drone, P-8A Poseidon Conduct Intensive Operations in Eastern Mediterranean

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — A high-altitude RQ-4B Global Hawk surveillance drone and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from the United States Air Force (USAF) have been detected conducting intensive operations over the eastern Mediterranean waters, near the coastlines of Lebanon, Israel, and Syria.

It is believed they are either “searching for something highly valuable” or signaling that “something significant” is imminent.

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) observers noted that the HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) drone, identified by the callsign FORTE15, was flying at an altitude of 54,000 feet over the eastern Mediterranean, near the troubled waters of the three nations.

“The American RQ-4B surveillance drone has been conducting continuous flights near the waters of Lebanon, Israel, and Syria, from morning till night. What are they looking for and for what purpose?” questioned an observer via social media.

CENTCOM (Central Command), the United States military command overseeing operations in the Middle East, is responsible for this mission.

 

According to the observers, this is the first time since December 2023 that a high-powered RQ-4B surveillance drone has been detected carrying out intensive operations in the eastern Mediterranean, close to Lebanon.

Another international OSINT observer reported that in addition to the RQ-4B Global Hawk, a US P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft has also been detected conducting patrols near Lebanon.

The US surveillance drone and the maritime patrol aircraft are believed to be conducting intelligence flights concerning Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon.

 US intelligence assets may also be keen on monitoring the movements of senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps present in Syria and Lebanon.

“Additionally, these US intelligence assets might be monitoring Russian military movements in Syria,” suggested the observer.

All these US intelligence assets are believed to be operating from Cyprus.

 

Another OSINT observer on social media speculated that the intensive flights of US intelligence assets near these conflict-ridden countries indicate that “something significant” is about to happen soon.

This could potentially mean a major war involving Israel and Hezbollah, which might also draw in Iran, is imminent, possibly upon the return of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his visit to the United States.

The high endurance of the Global Hawk surveillance drone allows it to fly continuously for up to 34 hours, as claimed by the US military, which has been using this HALE drone since 2005.

 

Defense observers state that the operational endurance of the Global Hawk surveillance drone ranges between 34-42 hours, with the capability to operate at altitudes of up to 65,000 feet and an operational radius of 14,000 nautical miles.

The assets used by the US military to gather sensitive real-time intelligence have been developed by Northrop Grumman in collaboration with the US Air Force.

They are equipped with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, electro-optic hardware by RTX (formerly known as Raytheon), communication systems by L3, and electronic support measures. — DSA