A group of Russian inspectors is performing an observation flight over Germany onboard an Antonov An-30B (NATO reporting name: Clank) plane under the Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press office said.

An-30 (Picture source: Russian Air Force)

"The observation flight over Germany is being performed on March 2-6, 2020 from the Cologne Bonn Airport. The maximum distance will be 1,300 kilometers [808 miles]," the press office said.

The Russian observation plane is flying along the route agreed with the observed party and German specialists onboard the aircraft are monitoring how the Russian military inspectors are using their surveillance equipment and complying with provisions of the treaty.

Observation flights under the Open Skies Treaty are performed to promote greater openness and transparency of military activities and strengthen security through confidence-building.

As a reminder, the Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and has 34 member states. It entered into force in 2002. Surveillance flights are conducted over Russia, the United States, Canada and European countries. The key tasks of the treaty are to develop transparency, monitor the fulfillment of armament control agreements, and expand capabilities to prevent crises in the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organizations.

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