Press Release - Ministry of Defence: Combat Identification
7 March 2002
Sir John Bourn, the Head of the NAO, told Parliament today that
Combat Identification enables the Armed Forces to improve combat
effectiveness and minimise the risk of fratricide, which is the
accidental destruction of friendly or allied forces ("friendly
fire"). Historical research in the United States has shown that
fratricide accounts for between ten and 15 per cent of casualties
during operations. Other research analysis of recent exercises by
the British army suggests that some 12 per cent of all ground
engagements could involve fratricide.
Combat Identification is the means by which military units
distinguish friend from foe during operations. Since the Gulf War a
number of factors have increased the need for the MoD to have a
Combat Identification capability that improves combat effectiveness
and reduces the risk of fratricide. The complexity of modern
warfare and an increasing reluctance on the part of the public to
accept casualties in warfare and the need to maintain military
morale are among the factors behind the importance the MoD attaches
to minimising fratricide incidents.
Instances where the utility of important defence equipment has
been reduced to minimise the risk of fratricide (such as the
ground-based air defence systems deployed to Kosovo) demonstrate
the need for effective Combat Identification. In addition, the risk
of fratricide is greater because the three armed services
increasingly work together in joint operations and in coalition
with allies.
The 1998 Strategic Defence Review and the NATO Defence
Capabilities Initiative, launched at the Washington summit of 1999,
provided the MoD with the structure and impetus to produce a Combat
Identification strategy. In July 2001, the MoD approved a policy
paper on Combat Identification and an action plan to take its
policy forward. It has communicated its strategy well to key
stakeholders. However, it has more work to do to see its strategy
implemented in full.
The MoD has a number of projects in train which will enhance its
Combat Identification capability. These include its Successor
Identification Friend or Foe project, being introduced at a cost of
£396 million, which will operate predominantly in the air
environment. However, there will still be some gaps in capability
most notably in the land environment. The MoD has therefore
commissioned further research work to identify the detail of these
gaps.
The MoD has worked closely with NATO on Combat Identification.
Generally the MoD is well represented and active on the relevant
NATO Combat Identification bodies, although the MoD considers that
it does not always have adequate resources to participate as much
as it would ideally like.
To further develop Combat Identification and reduce the risk of
fratricide Sir John’s report recommends that the MoD should:
- collect and disseminate data on the risk of fratricide in joint
and coalition operations and continue to incorporate measures to
improve Combat Identification in its current doctrine;
- ensure that business cases for future acquisition programmes
should address Combat Identification implications, where
appropriate; and
- ensure that its staff can participate fully in the work of NATO
and continue to work to minimise any unnecessary overlap in the
work on Combat Identification undertaken by NATO bodies.
Sir John said today:
"Causing casualties among our own or allied troops by
"friendly fire" is an inevitable but profoundly regrettable risk of
war. Combat Identification is a way of distinguishing friend from
foe and every improvement in Combat Identification lowers the
risks.
"The MoD now has a policy on Combat Identification and a
strategy for taking the policy forward. In conjunction with NATO,
it has more work to do to see its strategy implemented in full and
my report makes recommendations to assist this
process."
Notes for Editors
The MoD defines Combat Identification as comprising the
following three elements:
- Situational Awareness: Increasing combat effectiveness through
the positive identification of friend from foe via a timely, high
fidelity common operating picture.
- Target Identification: Protecting friendly forces from
inadvertent attack by their own side (or at least minimising the
risk of its occurrence) through the positive identification of all
potential targets in the battlespace.
- Tactics Techniques and Procedures: Developed to enhance joint
Situational Awareness and Target Identification capability because
no purely technical solution exits.
Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at http://www.nao.org.uk/ Hard copies can
be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the head
of the National Audit Office employing some 750 staff. He and the
NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 23/01
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