US Conducting Military Surveillance Flights Over Russia Under Open Sky Treaty - Pentagon

A US military surveillance plane is conducting observation flights over Russia as part of the Open Skies Treaty, Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2019) A US military surveillance plane is conducting observation flights over Russia as part of the Open Skies Treaty, Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said on Thursday.

"The United States is currently conducting an Open Skies Treaty observation flight over Russia," Davis said as quoted by NBC news.

The surveillance flights are occurring on Thursday and will continue into Friday, according to the media outlet. Russia was informed about the flights on February 12 in accordance with treaty requirements, Davis said.

The United States is operating an unarmed surveillance plane, the OC-135B, equipped with cameras.

Under the terms of the Open Skies Treaty, six Russian observers are on board the aircraft to monitor all phases of the flights, Davis said.

The media outlet reported that this is the first US observation flight conducted over Russia under the treaty since November 2017.

The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and came into effect in 2002. Under the treaty, its signatories can carry out surveillance flights over the territories of each other, openly collecting information on military forces and activities.