New nighttime mission for a US Navy Northrop Grumman MQ-4C (reg. 169659 – c/s BLACKCAT5) taking off from NAS Sigonella. Today, the drone lingered for a long time in the stretch of sea between Libya and Crete instead of off the coast of Tobruk as it had in the past. This was not a coincidence. In fact, the Russian cargo ship “Sparta IV” (IMO:9743033) was underway in the area, heading towards the port of Tartus in Syria.
This is a new example of the “Syrian Express”, connecting Russia and Syria through Gibraltar rather than the Black Sea (due to the threat of Ukrainian drones). It is highly likely that the vessel is carrying military equipment and it’s probable that it’s being escorted (although it entered the Mediterranean alone). The US Navy drone evidently wanted to monitor its movements.
Furthermore, it’s interesting to note the callsign used by the drone during this mission. No longer the usual “TRITON” but “BLACKCAT,” most likely a reference to the US Navy Catalina seaplane units that carried out nighttime anti-ship missions in the Pacific and were known as Black Cats.
But it doesn’t end there; in the same area, a US Navy Lockheed EP-3E (reg. 161410) also operated for about 2 hours, likely monitoring the ship after the drone left the area. So, keep an eye on the movements of the Sparta IV and its cargo.