Russian and US warplanes had near miss in skies over Syria as they flew in darkness
A RUSSIAN fighter jet flew dangerously close to a US warplane as airspace over eastern Syria becomes increasingly crowded, a US defence secretary has said.
The jet came within half a mile of the US plane as it escorted a larger spy plane across the country, Air Force Lieutenant General Jeff Harrigan said.
The Russian plane flew close enough to the US jet for the pilot to feel its jet wash, another US military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity revealed.
It is believed the Russian pilot had simply not seen the US jet because it was dark and the planes were flying without lights.
The unnamed official said: "It was close enough you could feel the jet wash of the plane passing by.
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"I would attribute it to not having the necessary situational awareness given all those platforms operating together."
The incident happened at about midnight on October 17.
The American pilot had reportedly tried unsuccessfully to contact the Russian jet via an emergency radio channel.
The next day, US officers used the hotline to ask Russia what had happened and it said "the pilot didn't see" the American plane, the official said.
Harrigan said there had been an increase in close calls over the past six weeks.
He also claimed intentional near misses, when a Russian jet deliberately follows a coalition plane too closely, were "happening one every 10 days-ish".
Russia is flying constant air patrols over Syria, particularly the devastated city of Aleppo, and routinely crosses parts of the country the US-coalition operates in, officials said.
But, the country has said it has not bombed Aleppo since October 18.
The latest incident raises questions about the extent to which pilots are able to track the complex airspace they operate in.
The Pentagon periodically chides Russia for "unsafe and unprofessional behaviour" in air operations.
This incident was deemed unsafe, but not necessarily unprofessional, officials said.
Tensions between the US and Russia are strained as the two countries clash over Syria.
Yesterday Sun Online revealed that Russians have demanded the return of Alaska from the US in a fiery new memorial.
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