R2OK!

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

This can happen in war, is there a cover up?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6333853.stm

Behind Geddon's Wall · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:56 am Post subject:

Odds on that the Yanks won't release it. It goes against their image of being (marginally) competent. This will get swept under the carpet.
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Cherskiy · Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:28 pm Post subject:

Anyone remember the British Army Warrior that was destroyed by an American A-10 Warthog in "Desert Storm" back in 1991? USS Vincennes and the Iranian airliner? The British Gazelle helicopter shot down by a Royal Navy Sea Dart missile during the Falklands War?

Mind you, this sort of thing goes back a long way - both the Royal Navy and the US Navy had a habit of shooting at any aircraft (friend or foe) that got too close during WW2. Fire first and ask questions later seemed to be the order of the day. A few years ago I wrote an article for a magazine about an RAF Hurricane pilot who managed to shoot his wingman down by mistake over northern Northumberland in 1942.

As Mark says, this sort of thing happens. "Friendly fire" isn't new, it's just that it gets reported now by the likes of the BBC who can't understand that combat isn't like a computer game - people make mistakes, weapons go astray, are dropped on the wrong targets, the wrong intel is given to the target plotters, etc. etc. Plus there's the increased level of access the media get in combat zones nowadays. 1001 things can go wrong - and it only takes 1 to result in tragic consequences. Obviously the military don't want to broadcast their mistakes as it a) makes them look back and b) it gives potential enemies succour and encouragement.

Some of the critics should try and handle the workload of a combat pilot nowadays themselves - especially the single-seaters where the pilot has to do everything - and see whether they'd do any better in a given situation.
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mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

Both Militarys are slightly different a lot of the US personal think on there own and then these disasters happen. This is why more body bags are returning to the US than the UK. It's a shame they police it this way, but blame the white house for this, as they are so trigger happy.