Hours after the attack, the Daily Beast says that the US Central Command - which overseas American combat in the Middle East - spoke directly to the pilots.
Officials from Washington and Moscow also spoke over a hotline set up to avoid similar confrontations, reports suggest.
There was also a similar attack on a CIA-linked site on July 12 that was previously unreported.
But the attack pushed both the US and UK into a compromise with Russia.
The U.S. and Russia agreed to a pact last week to target airstrikes against the Al Qaeda affiliate in the region – Nusra Front.
They reportedly went ahead with the plan despite objections from the Pentagon and CIA.
Daily Mail Online has contacted both the State Department and Ministry of Defence for comment.
US officials and rebel commanders told the Journal that the outpost was hit with cluster munitions.
US attempts to wave off the Russians failed to prevent a second air strike on the base, the report said.
About three weeks later, on July 12, Russian warplanes hit a rebel camp used by family members of CIA-backed fighters about 50 miles west of At-Tanf, the report said.
But the White House and the State Department, seeking to avoid a military escalation, decided to pursue a compromise, it said.
Last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry reached a provisional agreement with the Russians to join forces in strikes on Al-Nusra, the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
Under the agreement, the Russians would halt air strikes against US-backed rebels and restrain the Syrian air force in return for Washington easing Moscow's international isolation, the Journal said.
There are still disputes over the areas Russia can strike without approval from the US.
Because of skepticism in the Pentagon, there are reports of a clause in the Russia-US deal that means Kerry can stop cooperating if Putin bombs American allies.
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