The last NATO RQ-4D Phoenix unmanned aircraft landed at the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Main Operating Base in Sigonella, Italy on 12 November 2020, completing the AGS fleet.
Synopsis
The last NATO RQ-4D Phoenix unmanned aircraft landed at the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Main Operating Base in Sigonella, Italy on 12 November 2020.
NATO now has five AGS aircraft in Sigonella; the first arrived on 21 November 2019. The first test and training flight of the unmanned aircraft by NATO AGS Force pilots was conducted on 4 June 2020.
The AGS RQ-4D Phoenix is a remotely piloted surveillance aircraft developed with contributions from 15 NATO Allies: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States. Intelligence data gathered by the AGS system – which also includes associated command and control ground stations – will be available to all NATO Allies. The five drones will support NATO operations by monitoring the ground and providing situational awareness, also known as Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, or JISR. This gives decision makers an increased tactical awareness of what’s happening on the ground, in the air and at sea, allowing accurate decision making based on real time shared information.
Footage, courtesy of NATO AGS Force, includes shots of the aircraft on approach and landing.
