A U.S. surveillance plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Russia this week after an issue with its landing gear.
Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michele Baldanza told Defense News that the plane initially took off Wednesday from a Russian airfield in Ulan Ude to begin an observation flight, but discovered its landing gear would not fully retract.
"The crew, in cooperation with the Russian escort crew on-board, terminated the treaty observation mission and diverted to Khabarovsk to drop off the escort crew and to exit Russia using the most direct route possible to facilitate inspection and repair at a U.S. base in Japan," Baldanza said.
"Khabarovsk is a frequently utilized Open Skies Airfield, designated by Russia for treaty purposes, but it is not normally a 'point of exit' for treaty missions."
She added that because the mission was terminated, no imagery was collected during the flight. The aircraft has since left Khabarovsk — located in southeastern Russia, about 50 miles from the Chinese border — and transited to Kadena Air Base in Japan to undergo maintenance, and is expected to return to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska once the problem is corrected.
The aircraft was identified as a Boeing-made OC-135B, in an initial report from the Express newspaper in the United Kingdom. It has a crew of up to 35.
Under the 2002 Open Skies Treaty, 34 countries, including the U.S. and Russia, agreed to allow unarmed surveillance flights over their territory to provide information-gathering about military forces. The goal of the treaty, proponents say, is to provide open information that can be used to confirm adherence to arms-control treaties.
Concern over the treaty spiked in February, however, when Russia announced plans to add a new sensor to its Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft used for Open Skies flights. Pentagon officials and lawmakers alike raised the alarm that the new sensors would give Russia an informational edge over what can be gathered by the equipment used by the U.S.
Source: usatoday
Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michele Baldanza told Defense News that the plane initially took off Wednesday from a Russian airfield in Ulan Ude to begin an observation flight, but discovered its landing gear would not fully retract.
"The crew, in cooperation with the Russian escort crew on-board, terminated the treaty observation mission and diverted to Khabarovsk to drop off the escort crew and to exit Russia using the most direct route possible to facilitate inspection and repair at a U.S. base in Japan," Baldanza said.
"Khabarovsk is a frequently utilized Open Skies Airfield, designated by Russia for treaty purposes, but it is not normally a 'point of exit' for treaty missions."
She added that because the mission was terminated, no imagery was collected during the flight. The aircraft has since left Khabarovsk — located in southeastern Russia, about 50 miles from the Chinese border — and transited to Kadena Air Base in Japan to undergo maintenance, and is expected to return to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska once the problem is corrected.
The aircraft was identified as a Boeing-made OC-135B, in an initial report from the Express newspaper in the United Kingdom. It has a crew of up to 35.
Under the 2002 Open Skies Treaty, 34 countries, including the U.S. and Russia, agreed to allow unarmed surveillance flights over their territory to provide information-gathering about military forces. The goal of the treaty, proponents say, is to provide open information that can be used to confirm adherence to arms-control treaties.
Concern over the treaty spiked in February, however, when Russia announced plans to add a new sensor to its Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft used for Open Skies flights. Pentagon officials and lawmakers alike raised the alarm that the new sensors would give Russia an informational edge over what can be gathered by the equipment used by the U.S.
Source: usatoday
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