Surface-to-air missile system investigated following 2 April loss of US Navy Hornet on mission over central Iraq
The performance of the Raytheon Patriot surface-to-air missile system is once again facing scrutiny, with US Central Command (Centcom) confirming the air defence weapon is suspected of having shot down a second coalition aircraft. This blots an otherwise successful record at intercepting Iraqi surface-to-surface missiles launched against Kuwait.
An investigation has been launched into the 2 April shoot-down of a US Navy Boeing F/A-18C Hornet operating from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Centcom acknowledges that "a Patriot missile may have downed the USN F/A-18C which was flying a mission over central Iraq". The navy pilot was still missing at press time.
This incident follows the accidental shooting down of a Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR4 by a Patriot at the start of the war, killing both crew members. Shortly afterwards, a US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16 CJ destroyed a Patriot battery radar after being targeted by the system. Centcom claimed the two incidents were "separate and distinct", but that "procedural changes" were being considered.
Patriot relies on a combination of IFF interrogation and the procedural use of safe air corridors to distinguish coalition fighters from enemy aircraft and missile threats. "Even if an IFF is not working and the aircraft flying in an corridor is regarded as unknown, it still cannot be engaged," says Capt Ben Martinez, a US Army Patriot battery commander. Airborne early warning or the Combined Air Operations Center should identify the aircraft.
The system is designed to classify a target, depending on its speed, trajectory and altitude, as well as IFF response, as fixed/rotary wing, an anti-radiation missile or ballistic missile threat. The former two classifications would be engaged by the PAC-2 missile armed with a proximity warhead and the latter by the newer PAC-3 hit-to-kill missile. A battery still needs permission from the tactical control officer before engaging.
PAC-3 to date has intercepted eight of the Ababil 100 and al-Samoud missiles launched by Iraq against Kuwait while another four missiles landed in the sea or desert and were not engaged. The system has not been tested against the much faster and bigger Scud missile.
Raytheon has received a $51.4 million contract modification for the radar enhancement phase 3 and classification discrimination, and identification modification kits for Patriot radars. Work is due to be completed by the end of 2007.| Date | Type | Arm | Circumstance | Fatalities | Notes |
| 30 March | UH-1N | USMC | Crashed | 3 | Mechanical problem |
| 30 March | AH-64D Apache | USAr | Crashed on landing | - | Mechanical problem? Two crew injured |
| 1 April | S-3B Viking | USN | "Veered off ship" | - | Slid off deck of USS Constellation while taxiing after mission, two crew saved |
| 1 April | AV-8B Harrier | USMC | Mechanical failure? | - | Pilot ejected while trying to land on LHA-4 USS Nassau "during routine training mission". |
| 2 April | F-14A Tomcat | USN | Mechanical failure | - | Two crew rescued, US says hostile action not a factor. |
| 3 April | UH-60 Black Hawk | Shot down | 6? | Shot down by small arms fire. US Centcom and DoD disagree on casualty numbers | |
| 3 April | F/A-18C Hornet | Shot down | 1 missing | Shot down by SAM. Investigation into whether it was Patriot blue-on-blue incident |
Source: Flight International
