Russian reconnaissance aircraft Tupolev 154 (Tu-154M-IT), based at air force base Travis in Northern California since last week, has access to restricted airspace unavailable for passenger aircraft of the United States.
Jet spy plane flying under the open skies Treaty (DON) between the United States and the Russian Federation, which entered into force in 1992. Under this agreement, an unarmed military aircraft of both countries are allowed to fly over each other’s territory. An agreement on transparency extends to 32 other countries.
Tu-154M-on, which are designed to work on the program «Open sky», is equipped with sensitive electro-optical camera capable of taking pictures high-resolution in the air. The representative of the air force said the plane was checked for compliance prior to departure from the base of the Travis, which is located near San Francisco, and us observers were on Board to monitor all stages of flight.
Tu-154M
The spy plane has already flown the most secret U.S. military bases, landfills and factories in California, Nevada, Utah and Montana. The teachings of the «Open skies» this week was the first in Russia over the United States in 2019.
American surveillance aircraft for the last time was flying over Russia in December after the Russian warships have detained three Ukrainian ship. US officials said the exercises reaffirmed the allies, including Ukraine, that the West watches over the Affairs abroad.
The open skies Treaty is an international Treaty, signed on 24 March 1992 in Helsinki by representatives of 23 member States of the OSCE, created to build confidence between the two countries.
