§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what techniques and procedures are in place to reduce friendly fire incidents among the allied forces currently being deployed; and if he will make a statement. [94607]
§ Mr. IngramStandard techniques and procedures have been developed in consultation with coalition partners and would be used by deployed forces to reduce the risk of friendly fire incidents. They include the management of friendly assets in both time and space and the widespread dissemination of orders, such as the Air Tasking Order, in order to ensure that all friendly assets are aware of the location and movement of own forces. As I stated in my answer to the hon Member on 18 December 2002Official Report, column 807W, tactics, techniques and procedures complement situational awareness and target identification to form a triad of measures designed to achieve Combat Identification and minimise the risk of fratricide.