NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance Programme welcomed its third RQ-4D remotely-piloted aircraft system (RPAS) at the Sigonella air base in Italy on July 15.
The landing marks yet another step for NATO on its way to acquiring a total of five RQ-4D remotely piloted aircraft, referred to as “Phoenix”, all to be based at Sigonella.
The ferry flight of aircraft NATO-03 from California to Sicily is a significant milestone in the program, Brigadier General Volker Samanns, the General Manager of the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Management Agency said. “Having now three Phoenix aircraft in Sigonella gives the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Management Agency more flexibility in working test and verification issues, by simultaneously providing the equipment for familiarization and training,” he added.
This latest crossing of the Atlantic from California to Italy was entirely controlled by pilots at the Alliance Ground Surveillance Force’s main operating base in Sigonella, in the same manner as the ferry flight of the first and second Alliance Ground Surveillance aircraft in the end of 2019.
The Phoenix took off on Tuesday, July 14 from Edwards Air Force Base in California in the United States at 07:47 local time and landed at Sigonella around 21.8 hours later. The aircraft is now scheduled to undergo a system level performance verification phase before being officially handed over to the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force.
All five aircraft are expected to arrive at the Alliance Ground Surveillance main operating base in Sigonella by the end of 2020.
