Whatever the rights and wrongs of the incident in which a Russian SU-24 fighter jet was shot down
by the Turkish air force, this was an accident waiting to happen. Ever
since Moscow announced that Russia was going to launch airstrikes on
Syria, the risks were obvious.
One, at the outset, was the danger that poor coordination between Russia and all the other forces operating in Syrian airspace would lead to the US, for instance, downing a Russian plane (or vice versa), even though both sides insisted they were fighting the common enemy, Islamic State. In fact, defence officials from either side rapidly met to work out some rules, and these appear to have been observed. Mercifully too, it appears, today’s incident is being treated as of bilateral, not alliance significance – in other words, not the first Nato-Russia armed clash since the Soviet collapse.
One, at the outset, was the danger that poor coordination between Russia and all the other forces operating in Syrian airspace would lead to the US, for instance, downing a Russian plane (or vice versa), even though both sides insisted they were fighting the common enemy, Islamic State. In fact, defence officials from either side rapidly met to work out some rules, and these appear to have been observed. Mercifully too, it appears, today’s incident is being treated as of bilateral, not alliance significance – in other words, not the first Nato-Russia armed clash since the Soviet collapse.
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