NATO reconnaissance aircraft probably flew over Bulgaria towards the Black Sea

A NATO RQ-4D Phoenix unmanned reconnaissance aircraft flew over Bulgaria on 10 November 2026 en route to the Black Sea, Novinite reports, citing the specialist military aviation tracking website Itamilradar. The reports originate from a single source chain. At the time of publication, Flank had found no independent confirmation of the flight.

From Sigonella via Albania and North Macedonia

According to Novinite, the aircraft, with registration MM-AV-SA0015 and callsign MAGMA10, took off from Sigonella Air Base on the Italian island of Sicily. The reported route crossed the central Mediterranean, Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria towards the western Black Sea. According to the website, the aircraft carried out a surveillance mission there.

Itamilradar highlights several course changes over Albania and suggests they may have been linked to delayed clearance to enter North Macedonia’s airspace. This is a hypothesis based on public tracking data, not an established explanation for the manoeuvres. It does not imply that overflight permission was refused or that there was a diplomatic dispute.

NOVA also published the reports, citing BGNES and attributing the route information to Itamilradar. Its report does not constitute a second, independent confirmation.

RQ-4D Phoenix is designed for persistent surveillance

Novinite describes the RQ-4D Phoenix as an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft designed for persistent high-altitude surveillance and intelligence collection over wide areas. This capability allows sustained operations over a given area, but the publicly available flight path alone does not reveal what the aircraft was monitoring.

The connection to Bulgaria in the report is the flight through its national airspace towards the Black Sea. The reported route does not imply that Bulgarian forces were involved or that the intelligence collected was shared with Bulgaria. Nor does a single tracked flight prove an increase in NATO reconnaissance activity or the establishment of a new permanent route.

It is unclear whether the overflight and the mission carried out will be officially confirmed. Flank has found no statement on this specific flight from NATO or from the authorities of the countries along the reported route.