Open Skies Treaty surpasses milestone

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OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  The Open Skies Consultative Commission recently announced the 1,000th observation flight had been surpassed as part of the Open Skies Treaty.

The United States and 33 other countries are part of the treaty which allows them to conduct peaceful unarmed aerial observations over each other's territory.

Two OC-135B Open Skies aircraft, which support the treaty for the U.S., are assigned to the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

When tasked, an OC-135B takes off from Offutt with roughly 16 crew members. This includes pilots, navigators and sensor maintenance technicians from the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron as well as maintenance personnel from the 55th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. From there they'll head to Joint Base Andrews, Md., where they pick up additional crew members from the Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

"Our Open Skies crews do a tremendous job with this truly international mission," said Lt. Col. Kurt Koenigsfeld, 45th RS commander.

The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and began in earnest in 2002. Since then, the 45th RS has flown more than 150 missions.

"We're proud to serve the United States in this capacity and look forward to continuing our work as part of this treaty verification team along with DTRA," Koenigsfeld said.

The Vienna-based OSCC is the implementing body for the treaty, which covers a wide geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

"With the 1,000 flights carried out over the past 11 years, the Open Skies Treaty is a true success story of the joint efforts of diplomats, civilian and military experts, and the on-site personnel who have been involved in the implementation of the Treaty," said Ambassador Dr. Miklós Boros of Hungary, OSCC chairman. "I am confident that even with the availability of modern communication technologies the Treaty will continue to serve its purpose of enhancing security and stability across North America, Europe and Asia."

For more information about the Open Skies Treaty, the OSCC, and the observation flights, visit www.osce.org/oscc.