WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (WDTN/CNN) – Wright-Patterson Air Force Base released this statement Thursday about reports of a Russian Surveillance Jet landing at the base Wednesday, August 9.
The aircraft on the ramp at Wright-Patterson AFB is a Tu-154 from the government of Russia which is conducting an Open Skies observation flight over the U.S. on Thursday and Friday. The mission will be flown under the Open Skies Treaty which entered into force in 2002. Open Skies enhances confidence building and transparency by allowing the 34 countries that are parties to the treaty to conduct unarmed observation flights and verify compliance with arms control agreements.”
An unarmed Russian Air Force aircraft overflew the US Capitol, the Pentagon, Central Intelligence Agency and Joint Base Andrews at low altitude on Wednesday as part of a longstanding treaty that allows the militaries of the United States and Russia to observe the other from the air, according to two people familiar with the flight.