Open Skies Treaty builds trust among nations

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Clark Staehle
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  RAF Mildenhall plays a critical role in the Treaty on Open Skies by acting as a gateway to the Eastern hemisphere. 

The Treaty helps build trust between countries by opening their borders to another country's observation aircraft. Personnel on the aircraft take photos to ensure countries don't have a larger-than-normal troop build-up. An abnormal number of troops might be a sign of aggression. 

Although the base's roles vary, Taylor Kunkle, 100th Air Refueling Wing treaty compliance officer, said the two OC-135Bs that conduct the Open Skies missions stop here for gas, crew rest and in-depth weather briefings. 

Airmen at Mildenhall will soon get another chance to play a role in the treaty when Russian Open Skies aircraft photograph England soon. 

Country officials are required to give notice before flying over a country because the host country has a right to protect its national-security interests. 

Even though subjects of the treaty have time to protect their assets, the treaty isn't without meaning. The pact helps prove countries aren't massing larger-than-normal forces; built-up forces are hard to hide. 

While Open Skies flights have only been flown since 2002, the history goes back almost 50 years. 

President Eisenhower proposed the treaty to the Soviet Union in 1955 so the two countries could see the other wasn't preparing for military operations. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev rejected it, thinking the United States would use it as an excuse to spy. 

President George H.W. Bush proposed the Open Skies treaty again in 1989. The treaty was accepted by Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. According to the treaty, it "establishes a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the entire territory of its 25 signatories." 

Put simply, it contends that opening a country's borders helps build trust though observation. 

While the treaty provides for aerial observation, foreign planes can't just fly over a country whenever they want. Careful planning takes place before the flight can be approved.
Precautions were built into the treaty to ensure countries couldn't illegally take photos of each other, Mr. Taylor said. 

The plane's flight plan must be submitted and approved in advance.
Officials must provide specific times, dates and places for their photos with sufficient notice. 

Once approved, the plan can't be changed. Members of the country's government travel on the plane to ensure the plan is followed and cameras are turned on and off at the right times. 

The foreign nationals stay with the film until it's developed. 

Each plane must also have sensor-inhibiting devices, or camera lens covers, that attach to the outside and fit over the plane's cameras. 

Before it leaves, a third party must verify the panels are in place. When it lands in its target country, the panels' placements are checked again. This ensures the crew doesn't illegally take photos of any countries they fly over en route. 

"Treaties like this pave the way for cooperation between countries," Mr. Taylor said. "Open Skies helps build and maintain trust and can help improve relations between two countries."