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Treaty on Open Skies  –  DND/CF News Release  –  June 2012 Treaty on Open Skies: a Russian Surveillance Tu-154M Visits Trenton 'Open Skies' is back in the news. These days, Open Skies just as likely refers to 'liberal' civil air transport agreements.  In this case,  however,  it  pertains to the multinational  Treaty on Open Skies which allows aerial surveillance flights over the territories of  its  34  signatory nations. (In the past, CASR has reproduced DND's 2007 Backgrounder on the Treaty on Open Skies.) What has attracted media attention in part  is the use by the Russian Federation of a Tupolev Tu-154 – never a common sight in Canada. The aircraft in question is a former airliner that has been modified to suit its surveillance task. [1]  Day-to-day,  the Tu-154M/LK-1 is used to train cosmonauts –  hence its markings ( Y. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center  in Russian on the portside,  English on the starboard ). When configured for the Open Skies monitoring role, this aircraft becomes a Tu-154M-ON. The Russian Federation uses two aircraft for Open Skies monitoring, a turboprop Antonov An-30B and  the larger Tupolev –  now due for replacement. That replacement ( left ) is based on Tupolev's Tu-214 airliner. Adapted by Moscow-based sensor specialist, Vega, the Tu-214ON [2] has an air surveillance system with synthetic aperture radar, a infrared linear scanner, and cameras.  Russian sources claim  the Tu-214ON to be the first dedicated aircraft to carry all of  the surveillance sensors cleared by the agreement. Regardless of uniqueness claims, the speed with which new multi-use platforms have budded from the Tu-214 line is noteworthy. These are relatively modest adaptations but contrast with DND's pace at choosing from among existing 'platforms' (the Canadian Multi-mission Aircraft, DND's all-but-forgetten scheme to select a CP-140 Aurora  replacement being a case in point ). The text of  the DND/CF News Release on the 2012 Open Skies visit is reproduced below. [1] Tupolev Tu-154M/LK-1 RA-85655 previously flew as a VIP transport in Aeroflot markings. The Luftwaffe also once operated a Tu-154M-ON  (which it had  inherited from East Germany). [2] As with the Tu-154M-ON, the Tu214ON designation refers to Otkritoie Nevo/Open Skies. DND/Canadian Forces News Release Russian Observation Aircraft Takes To Canadian Skies Under International Treaty NR 12.128 - June 23, 2012 OTTAWA  —  Between June 26 to 28, 2012, a Russian Federation Tupolev TU-154M aircraft will conduct observation flights over Canada, in accordance with the Treaty on Open Skies. A Tupolev TU-154M aircraft, which arrived at 8 Wing [Canadian Forces Base] Trenton today, will be accorded  its legal right of an unimpeded observation overflight of  Canadian territory, in fulfillment of  Canada's obligations  as a state party  to the Treaty on Open Skies. Using an array of onboard  imagery systems,  the aircraft can observe and  verify objects of  interest or concern, such as military installations, industrial complexes, population centres and transport- ation facilities. The Treaty on Open Skies,  which entered  into force on January 1, 2002,  promotes increased confidence and  transparency among the 34 nations  that are parties to the treaty. Canada has exercised  its treaty rights by  having  previously conducted  a number of  observation flights over several states, including Belarus,  Bosnia and  Herzegovina,  Georgia, the Russian Feder- ation, and  Ukraine. This [...] marks the eighth time a foreign state party will have conducted an observation flight over Canada, the first having taken place in September 2004.  For reasons of  safety,  security and compliance,  Canadian  military  personnel will  escort  the  Russian aircraft at all  times. Canada is a signatory to several security treaties, including those dedicated to the elimination, reduction or control of weapons of mass destruction and conventional armaments. The Treaty on  Open Skies is one example of  how Canada exercises its commitment to reducing the threat of armed conflict  by  increasing  trust and  confidence through developing  greater openness and  transparency between states.