AN AC690 WAS ADVISED OF AN INCURSION INTO RUSSIAN AIRSPACE WHILE THE ONBOARD NAV SHOWED THEM ABOUT 3 MI INSIDE UNITES STATES OF AMERICA AIRSPACE.

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WE WERE FLYING AT FL210 FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR THE MIL FLYING AN IR SCANNER. WE WERE TASKED WITH COUNTING THE WALRUS POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE BEARING SEA ON THE PACK ICE. WE WERE FLYING IFR IN PCA WITH A BLOCK ALT OF FL220-FL240. WE WERE FLYING N/S TRANSECT LINES. WE WERE FLYING WITH 4 GPS'S AND 2 COMPUTERS ALL TRACKING AND ALL WITH MOVING MAPS. 2 OF THE GPS'S ARE IFR EQUIPPED AND ALL HAVE CURRENT DATABASES WITH THE INTL BORDER DEPICTED. WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/RUSSIAN BORDER IS LOCATED WITH GREAT PRECISION. WE HAVE FLOWN THIS EXACT SURVEY SEVERAL OTHER TIMES IN PREVIOUS YRS IN DVFR CONDITIONS AT LESS THAN FL180. THIS YR'S WORK INCLUDES NUMEROUS FLTS AT FL210 WHICH PUTS US IN THE PCA ABOVE FL180. WE WERE ON AN IFR FLT PLAN WITHIN A BLOCK AREA AND WITHIN A BLOCK ALT. ALL OF THE OTHER YR'S FLTS AND SOME OF THIS YR'S FLTS ARE FLOWN AT LESS THAN FL180 AND ALL THE LINES ARE EXPECTED TO BE FLOWN TO WITHIN 2 NM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/RUSSIA BORDER TO PROVIDE COMPLETE SCIENTIFIC DATA. ON MAR/WED/05 AT XA20 WE WERE FLYING N ON A TRANSECT WITH THE S END POINT AT N63 38.48 X W171 25.80 AND THE N END POINT AT N64 23.88 X W171 25.80. THIS N POINT IS 2.6 NM PERPENDICULAR TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/RUSSIA BORDER. WHEN WE WERE WITHIN 2 NM OF THE END POINT OF THIS LINE; I WAS INFORMED BY ZAN THAT I WAS AT THAT TIME 4.8 MI INSIDE OF RUSSIAN AIRSPACE AND THAT ANADYR WAS BECOMING QUITE AGITATED BECAUSE OF OUR INCURSION INTO THEIR AIRSPACE. I WAS INFORMED TO IMMEDIATELY MAKE A R TURN AND EXIT RUSSIAN AIRSPACE. I WAS ASKED TO CALL ZAN UPON RETURNING TO BASE. I STARTED AN IMMEDIATE R TURN. MY CLOSEST APCH TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/RUSSIA BORDER WAS IN FACT 3.8 NM AND AT NO TIME DID I EVER CROSS THE BORDER. ZAN AND ANADYR ARE SHOWING AND DEPICTING BORDERS THAT ARE DRAWN AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/RUSSIA INTL BORDER. THE FIR BOUNDARY APPEARS TO BE LOCATED INSIDE SOVEREIGN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TERRITORY. I MAY HAVE IN FACT CROSSED AN ARBITRARY FIR BOUNDARY BUT I DID NOT CROSS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/RUSSIA BORDER. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: FLT CREW DID NOT KNOW THAT UNITED STATES ALASKA ATC PCA CLASS A CEASED AT THE ANADYR FIR AND AT THAT POINT RUSSIAN CTL BEGAN. PREVIOUS YR'S WALRUS POPULATION SURVEYS HAD BEEN CONDUCTED AT LOWER ALTS BECAUSE OF LOW RESOLUTION IR SCANNING EQUIP. AS A RESULT; VFR FLTS BELOW CLASS A PERMITTED THE ACFT TO OPERATE VFR UP TO; BUT NOT BEYOND; THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/RUSSIA INTL BOUNDARY. WITH NEW EQUIP; THE ACFT OPERATED IN CLASS A AIRSPACE AND THUS POSITIVE CTL OF BOTH COUNTRIES. THE RUSSIAN CTLRS BECAME AGITATED. SINCE THE AIRSPACE BTWN THE FIR AND INTL BOUNDARY IS RUSSIAN CTLED; THE CREW UNKNOWINGLY TRANSGRESSED INTO RUSSIAN AIRSPACE. LATER CONVERSATIONS WITH ZAN CLARIFIED THE INCURSION AND SO WILL REQUIRE CHANGES TO THE CREW'S BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE TASKING FROM THE UNITED STATES GOV OR AN AGREEMENT ABOUT OPERATING ACROSS THE FIR.