Every war in history has suffered from friendly-fire incidents when forces allied against a common enemy tragically kill soldiers from their own side. The excuse given is the age-old “fog of war” dilemma in which judgments are made under stress and when the mind is confused.

However, systems to ensure that friendly forces can be identified, particularly from the air, have improved significantly over the years. Today, troops engaged in night-time operations in Afghanistan, for example, are required to have infra-red sticks attached to the top of their helmets which cannot be seen by the naked eye but show up brightly in the gloom for overflying coalition aircraft hunting for the Taleban.

In the 2003 invasion of Iraq, every British tank, armoured personnel carrier and armoured Land Rover had clear identification symbols which included orange canvas tiles on the top, large Union flags and thermal imaging reflectors.

Judging by the radio chat of the two pilots in the American A10 tank-busting aircraft which opened fire on the armoured Scimitar carrying Lance-Corporal of Horse Matty Hull of The Blues and Royals, neither seemed to be fully aware of the British style of identification. Even when one pilot focused his night-vision goggles on the the British armoured patrol and spotted the “orange things” on the turret, it did not produce what should have been instant recognition of a friendly convoy.

The two American pilots were flying one of the deadliest war machines in the American inventory. The A10 Thunderbolt “Warthog” is armed with a seven-barrel 30mm Gatling gun which can fire 3,900 rounds a minute. The A10 is a highly accurate weapon platform which can loiter over the battlefield and can operate effectively under 1,000ft.

With such a beast under their control it is imperative that the pilots identify with 100 per cent conviction possible targets on the ground before opening fire. Yet in the case of the death of Lance-Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, the kill went ahead despite the element of doubt in the minds of the pilots.

It is dangerous and unjust to make judgments with hindsight, and no one can seriously accuse the American pilots of flagrantly breaching the rules. Yet the fog-of-war excuse is difficult to support in this case because the pilots had seen the orange panels and that should have been sufficient to warn them off. This was a friendly-fire incident that should never have happened.

However, it was not only the mistake of the pilots. They should have been told that there were friendly convoys in the area where they were hunting for targets, making them even more cautious before letting rip with their deadly Gatling guns.

Six British soldiers died in the 2003 war from friendly-fire incidents, not all at the hands of the Americans. The British were guilty, too, of firing on each other, although not from the air. Two died when a Challenger 2 tank opened fire on another Challenger during a battle with Iraqi tanks.

For the families, the knowledge that their son or husband has been killed in a friendly-fire incident adds an extra agonising poignancy to the tragedy, although they understand that fatal errors occur in battle. What they want more than anything is a full explanation of how the death ocurred, who was responsible and whether the right procedures had been taken to limit a similar tragedy happening in the future. The families are entitled to be told everything

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