{"id":33040,"date":"2018-12-06T16:00:39","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T16:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/06\/in-warning-to-russia-us-flies-open-skies-aircraft-over-ukrainian-territory\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:38:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:38:51","slug":"in-warning-to-russia-us-flies-open-skies-aircraft-over-ukrainian-territory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/12\/06\/in-warning-to-russia-us-flies-open-skies-aircraft-over-ukrainian-territory\/","title":{"rendered":"In warning to Russia, US flies Open Skies aircraft over Ukrainian territory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. has conducted an Open Skies<\/a> flight over Ukrainian territory, in what the Pentagon is calling an explicit message to Russia that America remains committed to Ukraine\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, the United States and Allies conducted an extraordinary flight under the Open Skies Treaty. The timing of this flight is intended to reaffirm U.S. commitment to Ukraine and other partner nations,\u201d a release from the Pentagon announced Thursday. \u201cThe United States is resolute in our support for the security of European nations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The treaty allows the 34 signatory nations to fly over each other\u2019s territory to verify military movements and conduct arms control measures; the U.S. operates the OC-135B, an aging airframe that has struggled with maintenance rates<\/a>. This is the first flight under the treaty conducted by the U.S. in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term \u201cextraordinary\u201d is a technical term; under the Open Skies treaty, each nation is given a specific allocation of flights it might request. However, an \u201cextraordinary\u201d request from a country for the U.S. to overfly its territory on short notice falls outside that allocation of flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\t