§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his oral answer of 26 March 2003,Official Report, column 300, what steps he is taking to ensure that procedures to prevent friendly fire incidents work effectively in high intensity warfare. [106843]
§ Mr. HoonOur Combat Identification capability is designed to operate at all levels of warfare including high intensity operations. The specific measures we have taken to make our forces comparable to and compatible with those of the United States in Iraq assumed we would be participating in high intensity warfare. We will continue to pursue vigorously the programme of work described to the Public Accounts Committee last year, and learn the lessons from incidents of fratricide in current operations. However, no Combat Identification system is infallible and the possibility of fratricide cannot be entirely eliminated.