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The Russians Just Did A Fly-By Of Area 51

maximus otter

Recovering policeman
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The Russians are operating their Tu-154M aircraft configured for surveillance flights sanctioned under the Open Skies Treaty that allows member countries to conduct surveillance flights over each other's territory relatively unimpeded. The aircraft are equipped with imaging equipment with specific limitations and monitors from the country being surveilled are onboard the flights to make certain the party complies with the parameters of the treaty.

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Russian Tu-154M configured and certified for Open Skies flights.

This latest series of Russian Open Skies flights are being conducted out of Great Falls, Montana and are covering a slew of strategic points in the western part of the United States, including the highly secure Nellis Test and Training Range (NTTR) in southern Nevada, home of Area 51.

The mid-day flight on March 28th, 2019 appears to have originated out of Travis AFB, located near San Francisco, and continued on something of a highlights tour of American military installations in California and Nevada.

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After it flew over Creech AFB, it headed up to Yucca Flat, where one of America's nuclear weapons assembly plants is located, and a secretive airstrip that specializes in test flights of unmanned aircraft, as well as other sensitive Department Of Energy installations. It then headed over the pockmarked Nevada Test Site. Area 51 sits just to the east of this location. The aircraft's panoramic cameras can collect fairly wide swathes of imagery along the Open Skies aircraft's flight path.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/27206/the-russians-just-did-a-fly-by-of-area-51

maximus otter
 
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Never heard of the Open Skies Treaty but it amazes me that either the US or Russia would agree to this.
 
They do the same thing in the UK, about 3 years back there was this almighty roar of radial
engines and something big overflew our village, we are used to low flying but this was something
unusual, after many inquiries it turned out to be a Russian recognisance aircraft it seems they
are allowed these flights every 2 years and have to be accompanied by a member of the RAF.
 
They do the same thing in the UK, about 3 years back there was this almighty roar of radial
engines and something big overflew our village, we are used to low flying but this was something
unusual, after many inquiries it turned out to be a Russian recognisance aircraft it seems they
are allowed these flights every 2 years and have to be accompanied by a member of the RAF.

Which Russian aircraft operating in the UK would be fitted with radial engines ?

Sure it wasn't a crop duster ?
 
A few years ago a Russian plane flew near the coast and it was escorted away

They would never be allowed to fly over military installations, its all a load of twaddle
 
Odd. I'd never heard of this before. Which is very strange
 
It /is/ 1st April?
 
I wouldn't be quite so quick to write this off as a hoax: throughout the Cold War, so-called "liaison missions" from either side would openly travel around the opposing bloc's territory. I have even heard that they were able to use their counterparts' facilities - I remember reading somewhere of a British squaddie's bemusement at seeing a small Soviet Army detachment ahead of him in the queue at a NAAFI somewhere in Germany. The British version was known as BRIXMIS. So an airborne equivalent is not quite so outlandish as it might first seem.
 
Open Skies Treaty is a real thing. Russia and the US fly over each other on the regular basis as allowed. This flight is only noteworthy, if even that, because it overflew Area 51. It's not an April Fools thing.
 
The British version was known as BRIXMIS.
Which I am totally-familiar with, on a number of levels. Hence my relative surprise at the purported Open Skies arrangement. Very interesting- I shall do some research on this, later in the month.
 
Which Russian aircraft operating in the UK would be fitted with radial engines ?

Sure it wasn't a crop duster ?


I will see if I can find the report it was in the local papers at the time,
oddly it was mentioned again a few weeks back on some local online
board but I did not hear or see anything this time. I take it that the AC
if indeed it exists is not UK based permanently. We are in a area used
for low flying and testing military aircraft and are used to very low flying
AC but this was something odd it had to be for people to even mention it,
the beach often resembles a small airfield.
 
Sounds more reasonable.

Isn't the Russian 'Bear' a turbo-prop plane ?

Turbo-props have a big advantage if you are using short airfields.
 
The Bear is but it has 4 with counter rotating props, supposedly one of the worlds most noisy aircraft,
under certain conditions the prop tips can go supersonic and you certainly notice that.
 
One interesting thing is that the data collected under Open Skies has to be shared on request with any treaty signee. I wonder if an American could file a FOIA request and get the data from the overflight of Area 51...
 
I quite enjoyed the jape, although the novelty wore off rather quickly.
 
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