Thread by @steffanwatkins

🇷🇺 #Russia|n Air Force #RuAF Tu-154M-ON #OpenSkiesTreaty plane RF-85655|#194E97 conducted ops over the United States March 25-29 2019. Here is a dynamic map so you can name what they were looking at. #MLAT

(Green = roughly correct altitude to take pics)

fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

Remember, the #USAF and #DTRA go out of their way to ensure the American public don't know what the Russians are looking at with their yearly observation flights (blocking #FOIA requests for the same data) so for god sake don't retweet this far and wide. 😏

The green dots show you where the plane was triangulated (MLAT) by ground stations, and the altitude is a tell for where they might be taking pictures, but to further refine your guess, check the speed with which they are flying.

They should be ~10,800 ft AGL doing ~300kn.

The speed and alt are not consistent yr to yr or even flight to flight, but it's *likely* they fly the whole flight with the same limits; it makes planning easier. The USAF observers' job (partially) is to make sure they're on the right flight path, right alt, and right speed. ✈

But how wide is their panoramic view?

The swath of imagery taken is ~4.8 Miles wide, per the spec sheet for the OSDCAM4060, which is the digital electro-optical sensor approved and certified for use on the Tu-154M-ON in 2016 by the Obama administration.

poksi.ru/files/OSDCAM40…

🇷🇺 #Russia|n Air Force #RuAF Tu-154M-ON #OpenSkiesTreaty plane RF-85655|#194E97 conducted ops over the United States October 2-6 2017 (over Hawaii).

Here is a dynamic map so you can see & name what they were looking at.

(Green = Picture-taking speed)

fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

🇷🇺 #Russia|n Air Force #RuAF Tu-154M-ON #OpenSkiesTreaty plane RF-85655|#194E97 conducted ops over the United States September 25-29, 2017.

Here is a dynamic map so you can see & name what they were looking at.

(Green = Picture-taking speed)
fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

🇷🇺 #Russia|n Air Force #RuAF Tu-154M-ON #OpenSkiesTreaty plane RF-85655|#194E97 conducted ops over the United States August 6-11 2017

("Buzzing" the White House, remember?)

Here is a dynamic map so you can see yourself.

(Green = Picture-taking speed)

fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

🇷🇺 #Russia|n Air Force #RuAF Tu-154M-ON #OpenSkiesTreaty plane RF-85655|#194E97 conducted ops over the United States June 26-30 2017

(back-to back weeks)

Here is a dynamic map, so you can follow along

(Green = Picture-taking speed)

fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

🇷🇺 #Russia|n Air Force #RuAF Tu-154M-ON #OpenSkiesTreaty plane RF-85655|#194E97 conducted ops over the United States June 19-23, 2017.

(Alaska has poor FR24 coverage)

Here is a dynamic map so you can see for yourself.

(Green = Picture-taking speed)
fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

🇷🇺 #Russia|n Air Force #RuAF Tu-154M-ON #OpenSkiesTreaty plane RF-85655|#194E97 conducted ops over the United States May 15-19, 2017

Here are two dynamic maps, one for each day they were flying.

Look familiar?

fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

🇷🇺 #Russia|n Air Force #RuAF Tu-154M-ON #OpenSkiesTreaty plane RF-85655|#194E97 conducted ops over the United States April 10-14, 2017

Here is the data in a dynamic format that you can zoom and scroll around seeing what they were looking at.

fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=sel…

If you're interested in the #OpenSkiesTreaty and want to know where it came from, have a look at this, which was written in 1993. A very large number of today's issues, that opponents of the treaty raise, have always been issues, accepted from the start.

https://twitter.com/steffanwatkins/status/998834986584301568

This makes for light #OpenSkiesTreaty reading... sort of...

https://twitter.com/steffanwatkins/status/998833568699822080