Rap - as Lurker says, the instance I was particularly referencing was an asshole in a Warthog. Allegedly (i.e. according to the blokes that got strafed), they were overflown by half-a-dozen of the bloody things, then a few minutes later one came back & blew the crap out of them, killing two. [Note - this is why I say 'allegedly' - I've seen no proof that the one that did the shooting was actually one of the original six]

He shot them up twice, despite all his hi-tech sights, identification panels on the vehicles, the total lack of resemblance between UK & Iraqi armour, UK troops desperately waving at him to stop on the second pass, & the presence of at least one civilian within 20 yards of the column. Makes you wonder, dunnit?

Nevertheless, I'd agree up to a point about the zoomies. To be fair though, your historical comparison is a touch false. AFAIK, in Korea they were still basically relying on eyesight, & 'Nam wasn't much better was it? And, pardon me for being a pedant, but "they don't have time to distinguish friend from foe" surely means they don't fire?! I understood their rules of engagement to be "do not fire unless you are absolutely certain of your target", or words to that effect? There is an awful lot of high-tech gear that's supposed to stop this happening on all the planes.

So what's going wrong, I wonder?

I'd be interested to see (though I don't suppose I ever shall) a comparison between the number of sorties flown/number of blue-on-blue incidents for the American flyers, against the Brit's stats. AFAIK, we haven't inflicted any FF on anyone from the air (at least not to the extent of fatalities), & I don't remember one from GWI either. Of course we've flown a far smaller number of sorties in both conflicts, which is why I'm curious about the proportion. I can't shake the feeling that the entire American military ethic is simply more gung-ho & trigger happy.

As the British commander of that column said, "I'm trained to get my tank in & out of combat safely. I'm not trained to look over my shoulder to see if an American is about to shoot me!"