US scraps aircraft used for surveillance flights over Russia
A US Air Force spokeswoman said that two OC-135B aircraft are no longer needed
The Wall Street Journal’s electronic version of The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the US military has decided to dismantle for parts the aircraft, which, under the terms of the international Treaty on Open Skies (TOS), were previously used by the US to conduct observation flights over Russia.
“As the publication notes, this “raises questions about President Biden’s plans to return” to the DON. The decision to withdraw from the agreement was made by the previous US administration, led by President Donald Trump”, – TASS reported.
A US Air Force spokeswoman said the two OC-135B aircraft were no longer needed. They will be sent to an airbase in the state of Arizona, where the aviation equipment junkyard is located, in the coming months. US House of Representatives member and Nebraska Republican Don Bacon told the publication that it was too expensive to maintain the aircraft.
“Once delivered to the junkyard, they will be dismantled for parts and cut up for scrap”, – the lawmaker added.
The piece quoted a White House National Security Council spokesman as saying about the possibility of the US returning to DON.
“We will make a decision at the appropriate time, it’s not related to planned actions regarding obsolete equipment”, – he said.
US scraps aircraft used for surveillance flights over Russia