First U.S. Russia Joint Open Skies Observation Flight

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First U.S. Russia Joint Open Skies Observation Flight By Steve Hall

		March 16, 2011 - The United States and the Russian Federation begin the first ever joint U.S.-Russian Observation flight under the Treaty on Open Skies. This historic joint mission began on Tuesday and will continue through the 18^th of this month and will be conducted over the territory of Sweden on a Russian aircraft with a team of Russian, American and Swedish personnel. This observation flight will complete a series of joint missions conducted among Russia, Sweden and the United States that began three years ago in 2008, Russia and Sweden flew a joint mission over the United States. In 2009, Sweden and the United States flew together over the Russian Federation.

None of these joint flights was envisioned when the Treaty was first drafted, but improved trust gained through over 750 observation flights conducted by Treaty parties since 2002 has opened new opportunities for greater cooperation among its members. The Treaty on Open Skies establishes a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its signatories. The Treaty is designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants, regardless of size, a direct role in gathering information through aerial imaging on military forces and activities of concern to them. Open Skies is one of the most wide-ranging international arms control efforts to date to promote openness and transparency in military forces and activities. Stretching from Vancouver in the west to Vladivostok in the east, the Treaty on Open Skies is one of the most wide-ranging international arms control efforts ever undertaken to promote openness and transparency in military forces and activities. As such, the Treaty provides a key mechanism in support of U.S. Euro-Atlantic security objectives. The United States is committed to promoting and implementing transparency and confidence-building measures with Russia, Sweden, and all of our Open Skies Treaty partners. We consider this joint effort an important contribution to that commitment, as well as a stronger security environment for all Open Skies Treaty parties.

The Open Skies Consultative Commission (OSCC) is the implementing body for the Open Skies Treaty. It consists of representatives from each of the 34 States Parties to the Open Skies Treaty. The OSCC meets at the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Austria.

The Open Skies Treaty entered into force in January 2002, and covers territory from Vancouver to Vladivostock. The Treaty establishes a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the entire territory of its 34 signatories. It is designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants, regardless of size, the possibility to obtain information on military or other activities of concern to them. Open Skies is the most wide-ranging international effort to date to promote openness and transparency of military forces and their activities.

The OSCC convenes in monthly plenary meetings. It also has several informal working groups of experts which take up technical issues such as those related to sensors, notification formats, aircraft certification and rules and procedures. The OSCC's main functions are to:

- consider questions relating to compliance with the Treaty
- seek to resolve ambiguities and differences of interpretation emerging during Treaty implementation
- consider and decide on applications for accession to the Treaty, and
- review the distribution of flight quotas annually.

		The OSCC was established by Article X and Annex L of the Treaty, and has been in session since the Treaty was signed in March 1992. The OSCC takes decisions by consensus, and has adopted over 90 Decisions since its inception. OSCC Decisions enter into force with the Treaty and have the same duration as the Treaty. Other News Stories Brazil Will Need To Improve Aviation Industry To Achieve Competitiveness Passenger Airline Employment Up 0.4 Percent Jeppesen Expands Commercial Airline Overlay Chart Library Deployment Of Floodwall At St. Paul Downtown Airport Underway How Changes In Magnetic North Are Impacting Airports Air Pollution From BP Oil Spill Reaching Far Beyond The Gulf Northrop Completes Structural Proof Testing Of Second X-47B Aircraft International Aero Engines Launches SelectTwo Engine Program TSA Cooked The Books For Years On Costs, Federal Vs Private Screening New Helicopter Agreements Validates Eurocopter?s Competitiveness Coalition To Save Our GPS Testifies Before House Appropriations Committee Challenges Persist In Meeting The Screening Mandate for Air Cargo Black History In The Now Natural Variability Culprit Of Russian Heat Wave That Killed Thousands Women In Aviation 2011 Scholarships Total Nearly $700,000 Tsunami Aftermath Continues To Affect Japan?s Air Travel GOP John Mica (R-FL) Wants To Strip Union Rights From Aviation Workers FAA Orders Airlines Disable Bathroom Oxygen Generators On Aircraft Eurocopter Receives 68 Helicopter Orders At Heli-Expo 2011 U.S. Airline Passenger Travel Up 2.9 Percent Leading Edge To Paint B-787 Dreamliners Built In South Carolina Recovery Dollars Provide Improvements At Asheville Regional Airport EU Countries To Work Closer Towards Greater Efficiency Across Airspace Aerial Refueling Landmark Flight Between Two Unmanned Aircraft Space Shuttle Discovery Returns Home After Final Mission Mesaba Airlines Recalls All Furloughed Pilots U.S. Policy Change On Travel Restrictions To Cuba Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental Completes Engine Runs Successfully TSA Representation Election Gets Underway Northrop To Provide Flight Line Security Systems For Australian Air Force Police Patrol Switch From Helicopter To Flight Design CTLS Aircraft Mesa Air Exits From Chapter 11 As Competitive Airline