The United States of America Open Skies OC-135B Observation Aircraft supports the Open Skies Treaty. The aircraft flies unarmed observation flights over participating parties of the treaty.
The aircraft is a modified WC-135B. The OC-135B modifications center around four cameras installed in the rear of the aircraft. Since its primary mission is to take pictures, most of the installed equipment and systems provide direct support to the cameras and the camera operator. Work on the aircraft also included installing an auxiliary power unit, crew luggage compartment, sensor operator console, flight following console and upgraded avionics.
The interior seats 38 people including: the cockpit crew, aircraft maintenance crew, foreign country representatives and crew members from the Department of Defense's On-Site Inspection Agency.
Cameras installed include one vertical and two oblique KS-87 framing cameras used for low altitude photography approximately 3,000 feet above the ground, and one KA-91 pan camera, which pans from side to side to provide a wide sweep for each picture, used for high altitude photography at approximately 35,000 feet.
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