The Spanish Verification Unit Participates in an ‘Open Skies’ Observation Flight over Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Four members of this Unit formed part of the team, which also included representatives from Portugal, the Benelux countries, and Romania.

In accordance with the Treaty on Open Skies, signed in Helsinki on March 24th 1992, a team consisting of four representatives from the Spanish Verification Unit (UVE), accompanied by representatives from the verification units of Portugal, the Benelux countries, and Romania, conducted an observation flight over the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Romanian Antonov An-30 observation aircraft was used for the mission. At present, the Treaty operates with this Romanian aircraft, the German Airbus A319 OH (both equipped with digital sensors), and the Turkish Air Force CASA CN-235, which is equipped with analogue sensors that use photographic film.

All operations related to this flight were conducted from Sarajevo Airport. Prior to the flight, both the aircraft and its observation sensors were inspected by representatives from the Bosnian Verification Unit. Portugal led all phases of the mission: negotiation of the mission plan, execution of the observation flight, and drafting of the final report.

The distance covered by the Romanian aircraft was 711.5 kilometres, completed in a single flight segment. The observation utilised Romania’s new electro-optical sensor. A total of 600 images were captured of various points of interest across the country, mainly military installations.

The resulting footage was processed in Sarajevo using a ground processing unit provided by Romania. Following image processing, and in accordance with the pre-signed operational agreement, all participating nations received a copy of the footage obtained during the flight. 

The Treaty on Open Skies forms part of the commitments undertaken by the States Parties to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to promote greater openness and transparency in military activities, and to contribute to the development and strengthening of peace, stability, and security through the creation of an Open Skies regime for aerial observation. This Treaty allows any State Party to observe any part of the territory of another State Party by taking aerial photographs with a maximum resolution of 30 centimetres.