WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — According to Harrigian, in the latest incident the jets were less than a half-mile apart, and Russian authorities said the pilot did not see the US counterpart.
"We called the Russians about it and made sure they knew we were concerned," Harrigian was quoted as saying by NBC News.
The commander asserted that Russian aircraft intercept US planes "every 10 days-ish."
"They didn't have the situational awareness to know how close some of our airplanes were," Harrigian said, according to the media report.
In October 2015, senior officials from the US Department of Defense and Russia’s Defense Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding on safety in Syrian airspace that has proven effective so far.
