[Mike Irwin]

Ouch. Someone's going to have some explaining to do...


AS SAYLIYA CAMP, Qatar (Reuters) - A U.S. F-16 fighter plane
accidentally fired on a Patriot missile battery in southern Iraq (news - web
sites), a spokeswoman at Central Command forward headquarters in Qatar
said on Tuesday.

There were no casualties in the incident which
took place on Monday some 30 miles south of
Najaf.

"During combat air operations...Monday a U.S.
F-16 fighter engaged a U.S. Patriot battery
approximately 30 miles south of An Najaf,"
Central Command said in a statement.

"The F-16 pilot executed the strike against the Patriot while en route to a
mission near Baghdad...No soldiers were injured or killed by the strike," it
said, adding that an investigation into the incident was under way.

It was the second friendly fire incident involving a Patriot since the war in
Iraq started last week. In the first, a British Tornado was shot down by a
U.S. Patriot missile as it returned to base. The two man crew is reported as
missing, believed dead.

[Cal4D4]

I say his onboard stuff detected an active radar "painting" his plane and he decided he had a right to self defense. Note that the Brit plane didn't exercise a right to self defense and got blown out of the sky. A cultural difference????:D

[CZ-75]

Doesn't anyone have IFF?

[Leatherneck]

The fighter wouldn't IFF a patriot radar. But the RWR should have identified it, unless the PAC-3 waveforms aren't in the RWR threat files correctly. Remember that it's a quick-draw situation; if you wait too long, the other guy's missile is away and you've got an immediate *situation* on your hands. Glad nobody was hurt.

TC
TFL Survivor

[Cal4D4]

Everybody has IFF, every nation has laws against assault. Laws often fail the individual, IFF failed the Brits. I better stop this stuff, the Brits lost lives and I don't want to make light of this.:(

[UnknownSailor]

From what I understand, the F-16 pilot engaged a 4-cell launcher trailer, which are unmanned. So, calling this a friendly fire incident doesn't make sense.

[Mike Irwin]

This is a friendly fire incident.

Friendly fire doesn't just harm friendly troops.

Friendly fire can also harm infrastructure or equipment.

[Tamara]

Blue-on-blue incidents, "own goals", whatever you want to call them, happen when this many people are running, driving and flying around with live ammo.

They are only this noticeable due to the paucity of enemy-inflicted casualties.

[jmbg29]

Glad nobody was hurt. Equipment is replaceable.

[GinSlinger]

Maybe I am inventing "false memories", but I thought that aircraft had passive transponders that would signal back "friendly" when initially querried by radar. I thought that I had just read an article suggesting that the British plane shot down had his on as British friendly while flying his sortie and failed to flip to American friendly when coming back over US controlled airspace. I suppose, come to think of it, that that doesn't make too much sense b/c there should be a "NATO" friendly which all coalition troops should be using.....

GinSlinger