US, Russia Air Force Joint Exercise in Syria ‘Prudent Measure’ – Pentagon

Russian and US flight personnel carried out a joint exercise in Syrian airspace to ensure proper implementation of the deconfliction agreement, US Defense Department spokesperson Michelle Baldanza told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier on Tuesday, Russia’s General Staff said US and Russian air crews held a joint exercise in Syria establishing radio contacts and exchanging messages about parameters of their flights.

#SYRIA #Kartapolov: Cooperation with international coalition on prevention of flight incidents is successfully developed

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) 3 ноября 2015

“This test was a prudent measure solely to ensure that, in the event Coalition aircraft encounter a Russian aircraft during operations in Syria, one of the established and agreed upon modes of communication in the agreement functioned,” Baldanza said.

The Pentagon spokesperson said the test assured that the first communication between the US and Russian pilots would not happen during an unplanned encounter.

“The test was conducted in the skies of south central Syria and lasted about 3 minutes,” Baldanza added.

In October, senior officials from the US Department of Defense and the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a memorandum of understanding to avoid mishaps during the countries’ military operations in Syria.