Russians Do Overflight Of Area 51

[Yooper]

I was interested in this The Drive article for several reasons.

First, at the time I was working on the INF & START treaties the folks in the cubicles right next to us were the "Open Skies" gang. Want to read up on a crazy treaty and treaty history? Check out Open Skies.

Second, always interested in reading up on the antics of the former Glavnii Protivnik ("Main Enemy") as I spent most of my military career working on/against them.

Third, Area 51. Who's not interested in Area 51.

Link: "The Russians Just Did A Fly-By Of Area 51"

A snippet:

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. This latest series of Russian Open Skies flights are being conducted out of Great Falls, Montana and are covering a slew 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.

--- End of line (MCP)

 

[Chris0nllyn]

While I believe US observers are required on those flights (just like Russian observers on our Open Skies flights over Russia), the point still stands. What's worse....

Russians doing it with at least some level of oversight, or domestic police?

In 2016, a documentary came out called "DO NOT RESIST". While the primary focus is on the militarization of police, the final 15 minutes are described as:

The film highlights Persistence Surveillance Systems, a company offering low-cost aerial surveillance honed in Fallujah to domestic law enforcement. “We’re not out to watch the whole world, just all the world that’s got crime,” Ross McNutt, the president of the company, insists.

https://theintercept.com/2016/10/12/do-not-resist-the-police-militarization-documentary-everyone-should-see/

The same company/technology was used over Baltimore at one point.


If you're interested, here's the trailer for the movie (Pretty sure it's on Amazon Prime, among other outlets).

 

[22AcaciaAve]

It's time to kill this treaty. Why would anyone agree to such a thing? Why would you want to give an edge to a potential aggressor? We have enough technology that our satellites can determine what we need to know so this treaty does not benefit us. It might benefit other countries without the same technological advantage in space. Why give into that weakness? Kill this treaty now. The Russians wouldn't be complaining about it if they didn't realize they are benefiting from it.