The remotely-operated surveillance drone entered Norwegian airspace from Finnish Lapland and continued out over the Barents Sea to the west of North Cape. A major air- and naval show of power takes place outside Andøya Wednesday afternoon.
The large surveillance drone came from Sicily and was in the morning on Wednesday flying back and forth over Finland before it continued north across the border into Norway at around 14.25 local time.
Flying at high-altitude (53,000 feet), the remotely-piloted aircraft collects data to inform NATO and U.S. commanders about movements of interest. The Global Hawk flew all along Europe’s eastern border to Ukraine, Belarus and Russia before it crossed the Arctic Circle.
Defense analyst with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Per Erik Solli, tells to the Barents Observer that this is the first time a Global Hawk has used the corridor from northern Finland into Norway.
”This flight corridor was established after Norway changed its regime for allied aircrafts into Finnmark after Finland joined NATO,” Solli explains. Läs artikel