Russian Defense Ministry inspectors fly over Finland.

A team of Russian Defense Ministry inspectors is making an observation flight over the territory of Finland on board of an An-30B surveillance aircraft, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

An-30B (Picture source: Alexey Kondratov)

"The observation flight over the territory of Finland is being made from the Helsinki-Vantaa Open Skies airfield on September 2-6, 2019. The maximum flight range is 1,400 kilometers," the ministry said.

The Russian aircraft is flying on a route, which has been agreed with an observable party, while the Finnish experts onboard are controlling the application of the surveillance equipment and the observance of provisions provided by the treaty.

Observation flights under the Open Skies Treaty are made with an aim to make the military activities of the signatory states more open and transparent as well as to strengthen security through confidence-building measures.

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