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The United States does not believe there was any malicious intent on the part of a Russian jet that came within a half-mile of a US aircraft over Syria earlier this month, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Col. John Dorrian said in a briefing on Friday.
The US military did not immediately report the close call between American and Russian aircraft in Syria in order not to turn it into a major incident, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Air Force Col. John Dorrian said in a briefing on Friday."There was an immediate contact between the aircraft and then follow-up through the deconfliction channel that we've been working with the Russians," Dorrian told reporters. "The coalition...does not assess this to be something that was done with nefarious intent."
Earlier in the day, US Air Force Central Command chief Lt. Gen. Jeff Harrigian said a Russian military jet flew dangerously close to a US plane over Syria on October 17. The commander asserted that the incident had no nefarious intent. "It was not reported to the public because we have a deconfliction channel to discuss these incidents with the Russians," Dorrian told reporters. "The deconfliction channel is not one that is necessarily designed for public disclosure, and really the purpose of that is to do the exact opposite of turning it into a major incident is really more intended to keep the temperature down between us and the Russians."
Dorrian identified the Russian aircraft as a fighter jet and the coalition plane as a "larger-framed aircraft that we don't provide additional detail on."
US Air Force Command Apologizes for Flying Close to Russian Jets Over Syria
"On October 17, the crew of a US aircraft E-3 AWACS drifted down nearly one kilometer from its height and dangerously approached a Russian Su-35 fighter jet at the distance of less than 500 meters in violation of all air safety rules in [Syrian] airspace near Deir ez-Zor," Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
Shortly after the incident, the command of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the Hmeymim airbase in Syria's Latakia contacted the US side asking for explanations. Konashenkov said that representatives of the US Air Force Command "apologized for the incident and promised to work with pilots to further avoid such situations."
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"We are surprised by yet another attempt of the US military command to shift the blame for the dangerous approach of the US plane to Su-35 fighter jet on the Russian Aerospace Forces."Konashenkov said that Russian and US pilots cooperate to avoid dangerous incidents in Syrian airspace, adding that Moscow informed of the Su-35 jet's route in advance." This incident proved that effective cooperation has been established between Russian and American pilots allowing to avoid such incidents in future."
... do modern military aircraft rely on visual contact during flight to avoid collisions? This is the biggest load of malarkey I have ever read. These pilots knew exactly what they were doing. The Russians are buzzing the Americans because the latter have no right to be there in Syrian airspace. It is a very dangerous game of chicken.