'Friendly fire' kills UK soldiers

[jock4419]

 Last Updated: Friday, 24 August 2007, 15:03 GMT 16:03 UK 

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'Friendly fire' kills UK soldiers 
 
Seventy-three UK troops have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001


UK soldiers on patrol 
Three British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan by so-called friendly fire from American fighter planes, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
The MoD said the soldiers, from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, were killed at around 1830 local time (1500 BST) on Thursday.

It is understood they died when the planes dropped a bomb near their patrol in Helmand province.

Two other soldiers were also injured. Next of kin have been informed.

The fighter planes had been called in to give air support to ground troops, the Ministry of Defence said.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said he was "very saddened" by the death of "three brave men who were tragically killed in what is believed to be a friendly fire incident".

He said such incidents were "rare" and it would be thoroughly investigated.

'Very seriously injured'

  The United States expresses its deep condolences to the families and loved ones of the soldiers who died

US Embassy statement


No easy fix for 'friendly fire' 

"We will look at this incident very carefully and make sure the families, who are uppermost in our thoughts, know exactly what happened to their loved ones," he said.

He added that US air support was very important and had often helped get British troops out of dangerous situations.

"We go to extraordinary lengths to ensure these things don't happen but at the end of the day combat environments are very complex environments. Human error is always a possibility," he said.

The US Embassy in London said in a statement: "The United States expresses its deep condolences to the families and loved ones of the soldiers who died, and we wish those who were injured a speedy recovery."

The MoD said all of the soldiers had been taking part in a fighting patrol to disrupt Taleban activity to the north west of Kajaki, in Helmand province.

They came under attack from Taleban insurgents and during the firefight that followed, close air support was called in from two US F15 aircraft, according to the MoD.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Mayo, a spokesman for British troops in Helmand province told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "During this patrol they came into contact with some Taleban from a number of firing positions.

"As they came under fire they then called in some close air support to assist them and an aircraft came in, it dropped a bomb and tragically this bomb killed three of the soldiers and injured two more."

The three soldiers were declared dead at the scene. The injured two were evacuated by helicopter to the medical facility at Camp Bastion.

Lt Col Mayo said one of the two was very seriously wounded and the other seriously wounded.

BBC Kabul correspondent Alastair Leithead said this was the second case of British service personnel being killed in a friendly fire incident involving American military personnel in Afghanistan.

Royal Anglian fatalities

An inquiry was launched into the death of marine Jonathan Wigley, 21, after he was killed during an intense battle in Helmand province in December 2006.

In February, Mr Browne told MPs that since 1990, 12 UK service personnel had been killed in friendly fire incidents involving American military personnel in Iraq.

The three deaths on Thursday mean the total number of UK troops killed while on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 has risen to 73. Fifty have been killed in action.

The Royal Anglians, which have been based at Pirbright in Surrey for about five years, have been one of the regiments hardest hit by the fighting in Afghanistan.

There has now been a total of nine soldiers killed from the regiment. It is one of the worst casualty rates since Operation Herrick, the campaign in Afghanistan, began in 2001.

On 11 August the regiment's Captain David Hicks was killed during an attack by the Taleban on his patrol base northeast of Sangin in Helmand province.

The regimental headquarters of the Royal Anglians is in Bury St Edmunds. The regiment recruits mainly from the counties of Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.
Source;BBC



 
 

[Highlander21]

This day and age we don't seem to have the technology to tell each other that we are friendly and not enemy.I'm sure that there is something that could be fitted to the helmets of troops that incoming aircraft pilots can switch on in the cockpit to id the friendlies from the target or does that seem to be to logical for some leaders to understand.

[kiwi]

What like GPS system in built in the uniform?

[Highlander21]

Modern IFF is a two-channel system, with one frequency (1030 megahertz) used for the interrogating signals and another (1090 megahertz) for the reply. The system is further broken down into four modes of operation, two for both military and civilian aircraft and two strictly for military use.

FAA regulations require that all aircraft, military or civilian, flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet or higher in U.S. controlled airspace, must be equipped with an operating IFF transponder system capable of automatic altitude reporting (this is the reason that two of the modes are used by both military and civilian aircraft).

Each mode of operation elicits a specific type of information from the aircraft that is being challenged. Mode 1, which has 64 reply codes, is used in military air traffic control to determine what type of aircraft is answering or what type of mission it is on.

Mode 2, also only for military use, requests the "tail number" that identifies a particular aircraft. There are 4096 possible reply codes in this mode.

Mode 3/A is the standard air traffic control mode. It is used internationally, in conjunction with the automatic altitude reporting mode (Mode C), to provide positive control of all aircraft flying under instrument flight rules. Such aircraft are assigned unique mode3/A codes by the airport departure controller. General aviation aircraft flying under visual flight rules are not under constant positive control, and such aircraft use a common Mode 3/A code of 1200. In either case, the assigned code number is manually entered into the transponder control unit by the pilot or a crew member.

Altitude information is provided to the transponder by the aircraft's air data computer in increments of 100 feet. When interrogated in Mode C, the transponder automatically replies with the aircraft altitude. FAA ground interrogators normally interlace modes by alternately sending Mode 3/A and Mode C challenges thus receiving continuous identity and altitude data from the controlled aircraft.

After takeoff, the aircraft soon leaves the departure zone. At this time, the pilot is instructed via radio to contact a specific enroute controller on a specific radio frequency. The enroute controller provides additional flight instructions and may assign a new Mode 3/A code in the event of conflicts in his control zone. On a transcontinental flight, the aircraft passes through dozens of such zones until it is handed over to the approach controller at its destination.

In dense terminal areas, that is, where many aircraft are flying in a small area, the pilot may be asked to "Squawk I/P." The pilot then presses the I/P switch on the transponder which shows up as a unique display and helps pinpoint the aircraft's exact position. Specific Mode 3/A code are reserved to signify aircraft emergencies and radio failures.

It's all a matter of timing:

It can be incorporated into a vehicle/s or equipment carried by boots on the ground.

 

[kiwi]

With this day and age you would of thought they would of done something like that, anything that helps protect our troops is worth it.

I wonder what kinda cost is involved to put that system inplace. You think it cost are $25,000 or so to train a soldier, thats a pretty big investment, let alone a human life is involved. It the system cost say a few hundred dollars per soldier, then its quite low.

And having the safety element in there, is just gold. Funding could come from the governmnet money set for sporting events 

Afterall who can play footy if over ran by mullahs 

[sniper]

It would sure beat the hell out of draping a marker panel over the top of the vechile,and hoping that a fast mover can pick it up with his eyeballs.

If it works and cuts down the number of blue on blue contacts then use it...just CDF  cheers sniper