Gulf Tornado BOI Published (Merged)

[Topsy Turvey]

Hi, New to this site, but saw this on teletext and have since found link to BBC News website.

Seems like IFF failure was the main cause.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/3714251.stm

Lets hope this does not cause further distress to the families.

[November4]

From the MOD website the report is here (http://www.mod.uk/linked_files/publications/foi/maaszg710.pdf)

[Jackonicko]

"The Patriot system identifies hostile missiles through their flight profile and other characteristics, including the lack of an IFF response. The criteria programmed into the Patriot computer were based on the many different Anti-Radiation Missiles available worldwide, and were therefore very broad. ZG710’s flight profile met these criteria as it commenced its descent into Ali Al Salem. The Board considered that the criteria should have been much tauter, based on the known threat from Iraq, and concluded that the generic Anti-Radiation Missile classification criteria programmed into the Patriot computer were a contributory factor in the accident.

Patriot Anti-Radiation Missile Rules Of Engagement.

10. The Board concluded that the Patriot Anti-Radiation Missile Rules Of Engagement were not robust enough to prevent a friendly aircraft being classified as an Anti-Radiation Missile and then engaged in self-defence, and were thus contributory factors in the accident.

Patriot Firing Doctrine and Training.

11. Patriot crews are trained to react quickly, engage early and to trust the Patriot system. If the crew had delayed firing, ZG710 would probably have been reclassified as its flight path changed. The crew had about one minute to decide whether to engage. The crew were fully trained, but their training had focused on recognising generic threats rather than on those that were specific to Iraq or on identifying false alarms. The Board concluded that both Patriot firing doctrine and training were contributory factors in the accident.

Autonomous Patriot Battery Operation.

12. The Patriot crew were operating autonomously, with a primary role of protecting ground troops from missile attack, but the Rules of Engagement allowed the Battery to fire in self-defence. Because its communications suite was still in transit from the US, contact with the Battalion HQ and other units was through a radio relay with a nearby Battery, which was equipped with voice and data links to and from the Battalion HQ. The lack of communications equipment meant that the Patriot crew did not have access to the widest possible “picture” of the airspace around them to build situational awareness. The Board considered it likely that a better understanding of the wider operational picture would have helped the Patriot crew, who would then have been more likely to identify ZG710 as a friendly track, albeit one without a working IFF. The Board concluded that the autonomous operation of the Patriot battery was a contributory factor.

Patriot IFF Procedures.

13. IFF is a system designed to identify automatically whether or not a
particular asset, such as an aircraft, is a “friend or foe”; civilian Air Traffic Control also use it to identify and track aircraft. A signal is sent from the ground or air to the aircraft, which then replies. There are five different modes of IFF, which can work in parallel or alone. These include Mode 1 (an unencrypted code, which was used in Iraq by all the Coalition aircraft) and Mode 4 (an encrypted form of IFF).

14. Investigation showed that the Patriot Battery’s IFF interrogator for Mode 4 was working throughout the engagement period, but that Mode 1 codes were not loaded. The Board believed that autonomous operations without voice and data connections to and from Battalion HQ might have contributed to the difficulty the Battery had in receiving the Mode 1 IFF codes. The Board
concluded that the lack of IFF Mode 1 codes increased the probability of the
accident, and was therefore a contributory factor.

[The Monk]

Ooops! God bless the crew for being the victims of defence cuts and shoddy procurement. Guess the recommendations will be followed through instantly!

How bizarre to see the BOI results on these means!

Thank **** my 5 preceded the 'internet experts' and only had to endure the 'crew room experts'!

Is this the way ahead? On line accident reports?

[MajorMadMax]

I am sure this will generate a lot of discussion. This wasn't the only occurrence of the PATRIOT locking onto friendlies, as you know a USAF F-16CJ HARM'd one in response to be locked on. Not the best solution, but understandable.

Regardless of the circumstances, my sympathies still extend to the families, friends and compatriots of the lost crew. In this day and age this is very unsat, we should have established systems and procedures to prevent instances such as this one and the USMC FAC/A-10 fratricide incident. Our job is to inflict maximum damage on the enemy, not each other!

Cheers! M2

Downed UK Jet Downed Had Faulty System

Source: Newsday / AP, 14 May 04

A British military jet shot down by a U.S. missile during the Iraq war was hit after a failure of the electronic system designed to identified it as a friendly aircraft, the government said Friday.

A U.S. Patriot missile battery shot down the Tornado GR4A near the Iraq-Kuwait border on March 23, 2003, killing both crew members. The jet was returning from a mission over Iraq. Defense Minister Ivor Caplin said several factors contributed to the incident, including a failure of the jet's "identification friend or foe" (IFF) system. Caplin release a summary of findings by a Royal Air Force Board of Inquiry that investigated the downing. He said the "immediate cause" of the accident was the Patriot missile battery which "misidentified" the Tornado as an enemy "anti-radiation missile" designed to home in on radar systems. Caplin said other factors included the "wide classification criteria" for anti-radiation missiles programmed into the Patriot system. He said that the Patriot rules of engagement were "not sufficiently robust to prevent a friendly aircraft without a functioning IFF system being classified as an anti-radiation missile." The RAF report said neither crew member attempted to eject from the aircraft and both were killed instantly. It recommended that the IFF system on each aircraft be checked after takeoff and that the Tornado's IFF installation should be modified so a cockpit alarm sounds whenever the IFF system fails.

In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said it concurred that the failure of the plane's IFF system was at fault. "The investigation board determined that the Patriot crew fired in perceived self-defense in accordance with existing procedures and Rules of Engagement," the statement said. The Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., said: "The investigation determined that the incident did not occur due to negligence on the part of the Patriot Missile battery personnel, and therefore no charges have been filed nor has any disciplinary action been taken against any service members."

[MajorMadMax]

Mike

Thanks, hadn't seen that. Being at NATO, I get a lot of flack (some deservingly) about this but I always ask if they really believe we intend to shoot down the respected members of our closest and best ally? No single factor caused this; there are a lot of wrongs to be righted before we go to war again (although everyone was saying this after the first Gulf War). Hopefully the US Army will use some of the money freed up from the cancelled Crusader and Comanche programs to make the Patriot work!

Cheers! M2

[BEagle]

The Patriot works fine.....

It's the "........inexperienced troops, heavily reliant on technology to make decisions" who need better guidance, not the missile!

[Impiger]

The Monk - Way Ahead for BoI?

I rather think the publication of the report on the internet is the way ahead. In the Freedom of Information era we will have to presume much wider access and so making the whole lot readily available is a good idea.

Of course it won't stop selective quotation and partially informed speculation - especially by the media. The Crewroom Court of the Inevitable Verdict will also still sit at every opportunity.