The United States wants to move from film cameras to digital sensors for the overhead observation flights conducted under the Open Skies Treaty. “Relying on old film cameras is no longer adequate,” Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for verification, compliance, and implementation, said June 9 at the Open Skies review conference in Vienna, Austria. The US is also studying future Open Skies aircraft options since its current fleet “must be refreshed in the coming decade or flights will no longer be possible,” she said. The Air Force currently flies several OC-135B aircraft in this role. The treaty allows member states to fly unarmed observation missions over the territory of participating nations to monitor their military forces. The US seeks to move forward cooperatively with the other treaty parties since the sensors used in Open Skies must be commercially available to all members. (Gottemoeller speech) (State Department fact sheet)
Navy CCA Program’s Shape Coming into Focus
Oct. 17, 2025
In announcing its Navy Collaborative Combat Aircraft contract, General Atomics has provided some clues as to where the service is heading with its version of an armed, autonomous fighter escort. It will likely be quite different from the Air Force version.
