A US aircraft had to divert from a planned route over Syria because it was coming close to a Russian fighter jet on its own mission, the Pentagon said Oct. 6. It was the first time a US jet had to change flight paths because of Russian activity, and because the two countries have not established mutually agreed upon flight safety rules. The Pentagon has ordered US aircraft to change their flight path if they come within 20 nautical miles of Russian aircraft as a safety measure, according to CNN. The Defense Department would not say when this incident occurred. The news comes one day after Russia reportedly agreed to a second round of deconfliction talks with the US in an effort to avoid incidents in the air over Syria. The country’s efforts in Syria are no longer only coming from the air. Russia on Oct. 5 began striking ISIS in Syria from warships in the Caspian Sea, firing 26 Kalibr cruise missiles from four ships, the Russian state-owned TASS News Agency claimed.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.