PROTOCOL ON PROCEDURES GOVERNING THE RECLASSIFICATION
OF SPECIFIC MODELS OR VERSIONS OF COMBAT-CAPABLE TRAINER
AIRCRAFT INTO UNARMED TRAINER AIRCRAFT

The States Parties hereby agree upon procedures and provisions governing total disarming and certification of the unarmed status of specific models or versions of combat-capable trainer aircraft in accordance with Article VIII of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe of November 19, 1990, hereinafter referred to as the Treaty.

SECTION I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Each State Party shall have the right to remove from the numerical limitations on combat aircraft in Articles IV and VI of the Treaty only those specific models or versions of combat-capable trainer aircraft listed in Section II, paragraph 1 of this Protocol in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Protocol.

(A) Each State Party shall have the right to remove from the numerical limitations on combat aircraft in Articles IV and VI of the Treaty individual aircraft of the specific models or versions listed in Section II, paragraph 1 of this Protocol that have any of the components set forth in Section III, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Protocol only by total disarming and certification.

(B) Each State Party shall have the right to remove from the numerical limitations on combat aircraft in Articles IV and VI of the Treaty individual aircraft of the specific models or versions listed in Section II, paragraph 1 of this Protocol that do not have any of the components set forth in Section III, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Protocol by certification alone.

2. Models or versions of combat-capable trainer aircraft listed in Section II of this Protocol may be disarmed and certified, or certified alone, within 40 months after entry into force of the Treaty. Such aircraft shall count against the numerical limitations on combat aircraft in Articles IV and VI of the Treaty until such aircraft have been certified as unarmed in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section IV of this Protocol. Each State Party shall have the right to remove from the numerical limitations on combat aircraft in Articles IV and VI of the Treaty no more than 550 such aircraft, of which no more than 130 shall be of the MiG-25U model or version.

3. No later than entry into force of the Treaty, each State Party shall notify all other States Parties of:

(A) the total number of each specific model or version of combat-capable trainer aircraft that the State Party intends to disarm and certify in accordance with Section I, paragraph 1, subparagraph (A), Section III and Section IV of this Protocol; and

(B) the total number of each specific model or version of combat-capable trainer aircraft that the State Party intends to certify alone, in accordance with Section I, paragraph 1, subparagraph (B) and Section IV of this Protocol.

4. Each State Party shall use whatever technological means it deems necessary to implement the total disarming procedures set forth in Section III of this Protocol.

SECTION II. MODELS OR VERSIONS OF COMBAT-CAPABLE TRAINER AIRCRAFT ELIGIBLE FOR TOTAL DISARMING AND CERTIFICATION

1. Each State Party shall have the right to remove from the numerical limitations on combat aircraft in Articles IV and VI of the Treaty in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol only the following specific models or versions of combat-capable trainer aircraft:

SU-15U SU-17U MiG-15U MiG-21U MiG-23U MiG-25U UIL-28

2. The foregoing list of specific models or versions of combat-capable trainer aircraft is final and not subject to revision.

SECTION III. PROCEDURES FOR TOTAL DISARMING

1. Models or versions of combat-capable trainer aircraft being totally disarmed shall be rendered incapable of further employment of any type of weapon system as well as further operation of electronic warfare and reconnaissance systems by the removal of the following components:

(A) provisions specifically for the attachment of weapon systems, such as special hardpoints, launching devices, or weapon mounting areas;

(B) units and panels of weapon control systems including weapon selection, arming and firing or launching systems;

(C) units of aiming equipment and weapon guidance systems not integral to navigation and flight control systems; and

(D) units and panels of electronic warfare and reconnaissance systems including associated antennae.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Section, any special hardpoints which are integral to the aircraft, as well as any special elements of general purpose hardpoints which are designed for use only with the components described in paragraph 1 of this Section, shall be rendered incapable of further employment with such systems. Electrical circuits of the weapon, electronic warfare, and reconnaissance systems described in paragraph 1 of this Section shall be rendered incapable of further employment by removal of the wiring or, if that is not technically practicable, by cutting out sections of the wiring in accessible areas.

3. Each State Party shall provide to all other States Parties the following information, no less than 42 days in advance of the total disarming of the first aircraft of each model or version of combat-capable trainer aircraft listed in Section II of this Protocol:

(A) a basic block diagram portraying all major components of weapon systems including aiming equipment and weapon guidance systems, provisions designed for the attachment of weapons as well as components of electronic warfare and reconnaissance systems, the basic function of the components described in paragraph 1 of this Section, and the functional connections of such components to each other;

(B) a general description of the disarming process including a list of components to be removed; and

(C) a photograph of each component to be removed illustrating its position in the aircraft prior to its removal, and a photograph of the same position after the corresponding component has been removed.

SECTION IV. PROCEDURES FOR CERTIFICATION

1. Each State Party that intends to disarm and certify, or certify alone, models or versions of combat-capable trainer aircraft shall comply with the following certification procedures in order to ensure that such aircraft do not possess any of the components listed in Section III, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Protocol.

2. Each State Party shall notify all other States Parties in accordance with Section IX, paragraph 3 of the Protocol on Inspection of each certification. In the event of the first certification of an aircraft that does not require total disarming, the State Party that intends to conduct the certification shall provide to all other States Parties the information required in Section III, paragraph 3, subparagraphs (A), (B) and (C) of this Protocol for an armed model or version of the same aircraft type.

3. Each State Party shall have the right to inspect the certification of combat-capable trainer aircraft in accordance with Section IX of the Protocol on Inspection.

4. The process of total disarming and certification, or certification alone, shall be deemed completed when the certification procedures set forth in this Section have been completed regardless of whether any State Party exercises the certification inspection rights described in paragraph 3 of this Section and Section IX of the Protocol on Inspection, provided that within 30 days of receipt of the notification of completion of the certification and reclassification provided pursuant to paragraph

5 of this Section no State Party has notified all other States Parties that it considers that there is an ambiguity relating to the certification and reclassification process. In the event of such an ambiguity being raised, such reclassification shall not be deemed complete until the matter relating to the ambiguity is resolved.

5. The State Party conducting the certification shall notify all other States Parties in accordance with Section IX of the Protocol on Inspection of completion of the certification.

6. Certification shall be conducted in the area of application. States Parties belonging to the same group of States Parties shall have the right to share locations for certification.

SECTION V. PROCEDURES FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND VERIFICATION

All models or versions of combat-capable trainer aircraft certified as unarmed shall be subject to information exchange, in accordance with the provisions of the Protocol on Information Exchange, and verification, including inspection, in accordance with the Protocol on Inspection.

Return to Top
Return to CFE Treaty Main Page