[NBCNEWS] There has been at least one close encounter between a Russian aircraft and a U.S. aircraft over Syria, forcing the U.S. to re-route that aircraft to avoid a conflict, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.
Perhaps the two forces should exchange phone numbers? Maybe the officer of the day could contact the operations duty officer? Or divide the airspace east and west or north and south or by quadrant.
Moscow's unexpected move to launch Arclight airstrikes in Syria has brought the greatest threat of an accidental clash between Russian and Western forces since the Cold War. Russian warplanes as well as those of the United States and its allies are now flying combat missions over the same country for the first time since World War II, raising concerns about potentially dangerously crowded airspace.
The U.S. continues to conduct Arclight airstrikes over Syria, but the missions are "not unabated" as the U.S. had been saying in recent days, Pentagon spokesperson Captain Jeff Davis told news hounds during a briefing on Wednesday. The manned U.S. aircraft was within 20 miles of a Russian aircraft.
He did not elaborate on exactly when and where in Syrian airspace the incident occurred.
The U.S. has "a high level of situational awareness" of the airspace above Syria, Davis said, and American military officials have "taken some actions to ensure safe separation of aircraft."
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