Washington Debates Role of Satellites in Open Skies Treaty

摘要

Almost 20 years alter countries began en-forcing the Open Skies Treaty, the idea of using satellites to replace the Air Force's decades-old OC-135B surveillance air-planes is gaining new life in Washington. But is it feasible? The treaty allows about three dozen signatory nations to fly over other countries to monitor their domestic military operations and, occasionally, local develop-ments like natural disasters. America's two OC- 135B jets were equipped with wet-film cameras to take photos of foreign land, but are now switching to digital cameras and are in the early stages of being replaced by newer planes. Both are housed at Offutt AFB, Neb. The challenges of maintaining nearly 60-year-old aircraft, a standoff with Moscow over Russian sensor upgrades and behavior during flights, and improved satellite imagery capabilities are driving the treaty's critics to call for a new way forward. Critics say new electro-optical sensors give Russia an unfair advantage, which the US should use satellites to offset. Others note that the resolution of Moscow's cameras fall within the treaty's parameters, are commercially available, and could be matched by American camera upgrades in the works.