Feb
They are performed in accordance with the Open Skies Treaty
Under the Open Skies Treaty, a team composed of representatives of the Spanish Verification Unit, its US counterpart (Defense Threat Reduction Agency, DTRA) and the US Air Force, has recently conducted an observation training flight over Canada. The aircraft used for the flight was an USAF OC-135B and the escort was provided by the Canadian Verification Unit.
Upon completion of the flight over Canadian territory, the aircraft flew to Spain, to run the same exercise but changing roles, so that the American-Canadian team acted as observer, being escorted by the Spanish team, which was previously reinforced with two additional members of the Verification Unit.
Before the flights took place, both the aircraft and the observation sensors were inspected by representatives of the UVE (Spanish acronym for Spanish Verificaction Unit), that once on board the plane, controlled the drill using observation sensors in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty, as well as with the strict implementation of the route previously agreed in the mission plan.
At the end of the first flight, the aircraft landed at the Son San Juan AFB in Palma de Mallorca, where the chief of the Spanish Verification Unit, those of the US and Canadian observation teams along with a representation of the Spanish Escort Team took the opportunity to compliment the commander of Balearic Military Region, Major General Fernando Aznar, Spanish Army.
The Open Skyes Treaty, signed in Helsinki in 1992, allows the State parties to observe certain areas of other State parties as a part of the commitments agreed by the member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to promote a greater openness and transparency in their military activities. It also contributes to the development and strengthening of peace, stability and security by creating an inspection system cleared to take aerial imagery up to thirty centimeters maximum resolution.
