The Treaty on Open Skies entered into force on January 1, 2002, and currently has 34 party states. The idea of allowing countries to openly surveil each other is thought to prevent misunderstandings and limit escalation of tensions. The Open Skies regulations covers the territory over which the parties exercise sovereignty, including mainland, islands, and internal and territorial waters.
About Treaty on Open Skies in brief
The Treaty on Open Skies entered into force on January 1, 2002, and currently has 34 party states. The idea of allowing countries to openly surveil each other is thought to prevent misunderstandings and limit escalation of tensions. The Open Skies regulations covers the territory over which the parties exercise sovereignty, including mainland, islands, and internal and territorial waters. Observation aircraft may be provided by either the observing party or by the observed party, at the latter’s choice. All Open Skies aircraft and sensors must pass specific certification and pre-flight inspection procedures to ensure that they are compliant with treaty standards. Canada uses a C-130 Hercules aircraft equipped with a \”SAMSON\” sensor pod to conduct flights over other treaty nations. The official certified U.S. Open skies aircraft is the OC-135B Open Skies. The treaty is one of unlimited duration, and is open to accession by other states. Republics of the former Soviet Union that have not already become state parties to the treaty may join it at any time. Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Switzerland, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Armenia and Uzbekistan have not yet ratified the treaty. The Republic of Cyprus submitted its application to accede the Treaty in 2002; since then, however, Turkey has blocked its accession.
This treaty is not related to civil-aviation open skies agreements. It was initially proposed to Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin at the Geneva Conference of 1955 by U. S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower; however, the Soviets promptly rejected the concept and it lay dormant for several years. Until 2008, the UK was designated the designated registrant for the UK’s new sensor suite, RA-64519. Until the UK designated an RA-2519 aircraft in 2008, Germany used this type as well until this type of aircraft was designated in 2008. Russia is phasing out both An-30 and Tu-214M-154M and replacing them with two Tu- 214M-19s. Bulgaria, Russia, Romania, Ukraine and the Czech Republic also use the Antonov Antonov An- 30 for their flights. The Czech Republic used to use this for this purpose, but apparently retired all of theirs from service in 2003. Russia also uses a Saab 340-over aircraft that was certified in 2004, though it is being challenged by the US in 2004 and 2005. The UK is designated as an designated registrar for the Saab340-over Aircraft that was certification in 2004. It is also being challenged in 2004 by the UK, though the US was designated an SA-645-19 aircraft.
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This page is based on the article Treaty on Open Skies published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 09, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
