Editing Treaty on Open Skies (section)

=== Aircraft ===
[[File:Oc-135 xxl.jpg|thumb|A [[United States Air Force|USAF]] [[Boeing OC-135B Open Skies]]]]
[[File:An-30ukrainearmy.JPG|thumb| [[An-30]] monitoring aircraft]]
[[File:Russian Air Force Tu-214ON RA-64519 UUBW 2011-8-12.png|thumb|[[Tupolev Tu-214]]ON of the [[Russian Air Force]]]]
Observation aircraft may be provided by either the observing party or by the observed party (the "taxi option"), at the latter's choice. All Open Skies aircraft and sensors must pass specific certification and [[pre-flight inspection]] procedures to ensure that they are compliant with treaty standards.<ref name=stategov />

The official certified U.S. Open Skies aircraft is the [[OC-135B Open Skies]].{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Canada uses a [[C-130 Hercules]] aircraft equipped with a "SAMSON" sensor pod to conduct flights over other treaty nations. The pod is a converted CC-130 fuel tank modified to carry the permitted sensors, along with associated on-board mission systems. A consortium of nations consisting of Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain own and operate this system. The costs of maintaining the SAMSON Pod are shared, based on each nation's flight quota and actual use.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine use the [[Antonov An-30]] for their flights. The Czech Republic also used to use the An-30 for this purpose but apparently retired all of theirs from service in 2003.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

Russia also uses a [[Tupolev Tu-154A|Tu-154M-ON]] monitoring aircraft. [[Germany]] formerly used this type as well until the aircraft was lost in [[1997_Namibia_mid-air_collision|a 1997 accident]]. Russia is phasing out both An-30 and Tu-154M-ON and replacing them with two [[Tupolev Tu-204#Tu-214ON|Tu-214ON]] with the registrations RA-64519 and RA-64525. This aircraft's new sensor suite, though, is being challenged by the US.{{Citation needed|date=September 2018}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Alejandro Micco, Tomás Serebrisky|date=2006|title=Competition regimes and air transport costs: The effects of open skies agreements|journal=Journal of International Economics|volume=70}}</ref>

Sweden uses a [[Saab 340]] aircraft ("OS-100") that was certified in 2004.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Until 2008, the U.K. designated aircraft was an [[Hawker Siddeley Andover|Andover C.1(PR)]] aircraft, registration XS596. Since then the U.K. has used a variety of aircraft including a Saab 340, an An-30, and an OC-135.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-07-16a.165334.h&s=((section:wrans)+open+skies)+speaker:11189#g165334.q0|title=Surveillance|website=TheyWorkForYou}}</ref>

In 2017, the [[German Air Force]] purchased an [[Airbus A319]] as its future Open Skies aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://augengeradeaus.net/2017/01/flugbereitschaft-erhaelt-zusaetzlichen-airbus/ |title=Flugbereitschaft erhält zusätzlichen Airbus |trans-title=Open Skies Adds Airbus Aircraft |date=5 January 2017 |first=T. |last=Wiegold |work=Augen geradeaus |language=de }}</ref>