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Not Much Pentagon Can Do About Russian Spy Plane Request

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Jonah Bennett Contributor
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Russia plans to fly spy planes over the U.S., and there’s nothing the Pentagon can do to stop the request, as the U.S. is a party to a 1992 agreement termed the Treaty on Open Skies.

Monday’s request comes at a time when the Pentagon has listed Russia as its number one threat, putting it in a difficult position. Refusal is not permitted under the treaty, and so must allow Moscow to send over unarmed aircraft equipped with infrared gear, radar and video cameras.

So long as the equipment isn’t too powerful, the treaty, officially ratified by the Senate in 2002, provides an open door to Russian surveillance of the U.S. The treaty states that “No territory can be declared off-limits by the host nation.”

“We have to remember that while we have pretty good intelligence on a lot of the world, a lot of other countries don’t necessarily have that great of intelligence on us,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told The Washington Post. “So, in the interest of transparency and [avoiding] miscalculation on their part, sometimes it’s worthwhile to allow them to have a look at what you’re doing or what you’re not doing.”

Davis emphasized that the request to fly over the U.S. is routine and that the U.S. itself regularly engages in similar activity. U.S. aircraft flew over Russia in 2014 under this arrangement after taking off from Yokota Air Base, said Davis. Surveillance flights in 2014 may have provided the U.S. valuable intelligence on Russian troop movements and military gear heading towards the Ukraine.

“Most of the world has no idea this treaty even exists,” Navy Cmdr. Chris Nelson told Stars and Stripes in 2014. “Whenever I mention that Russians fly aircraft over the U.S. taking pictures, it blows people’s minds.”

But the treaty was originally ratified at a time when Russia did not pose any threat to the United States. That situation has reversed. This isn’t the first time concern has arisen regarding the treaty.

Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart stated last year during a House Committee on Armed Services hearing that “The Open Skies construct was designed for a different era.” Stewart then said he would prefer to deliver more in-depth remarks to Congressman behind closed doors.

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