Russian ministry of defense officials met with Pentagon officials via video conference Wednesday to discuss the US-Russia memorandum of understanding on flight safety over Syria, according to a statement by Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook. Both sides are “committed to adhering to the MOU on flight safety as long as each side is operating in Syria,” according to the press release, which also states the conversation was “constructive.” US and Russian defense officials have previously discussed flight safety in Syrian airspace, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said in March that the US must keep communication lines open with Russia even at the “worst of times.”
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
