Minimizing Friendly Fire

The Army is trying to develop a combat identification system to minimize ground-to-ground and air-to-ground friendly fire, or "fratricide," incidents. It plans to spend up to $100 million on a near-term identification system that might be eventually discarded if it cannot be integrated into a long-term solution. The Army now plans to start producing a near-term system about 15 months before it decides what the cost-effective, long-term solution might be. The Army plans to buy about 1,500 near-term systems to equip front line forces, including ground vehicles and helicopters. This number would not be enough for a larger-scale operation, however, leaving forces still vulnerable to fratricide. Moreover, since the near-term system will not be used on fixed-wing aircraft, this system will not provide adequate coverage in conflicts involving close air support. Other combat identification and situational awareness systems developed in recent years have upgraded the military's capability in this area and could serve as interim improvements until the Pentagon and the Army are sure that the near-term system can be integrated into the long-term solution.

GAO found that: (1) the Army intends to begin near-term BCIS production in July 1995, but it will not decide what the mid- and long-term solutions will be until October 1996; (2) the Army's plans to initiate BCIS production before deciding what technology will be used in later phases could result in a system that cannot be integrated into the long-term solution and the waste of millions of dollars; (3) the Department of Defense has strengthened oversight of BCIS and limited initial funding for it to $50 million; (4) the Army's near-term BCIS technology and fielding plans are not sufficient for large-force conflicts or those requiring close air support using fixed-wing aircraft; (5) other available or planned combat identification systems can provide interim anti-fratricide protection while the Army pursues long-term BCIS planning; and (6) the near-term BCIS system will not significantly enhance anti-fratricide protection because of its limited deployment and susceptibility to enemy interference.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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