Friendly fire

Friendly fire (or non-hostile fire) is a term originally adopted by the United States military in reference to an attack on friendly forces by other friendly forces, which may be deliberate (eg. incorrectly identifying the target as the enemy), or accidental (eg. missing the enemy and hitting "friendlies"). Friendly fire is contrasted with fire originating from enemy forces ("enemy fire"). In a friendly fire incident personnel may be killed, or material assets may be damaged or destroyed.

Related Topics:
United States military - Enemy - Fire

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The British military refers to these incidents as blue on blue, which derives from wargaming exercises where friendly forces are "blue" and enemy forces are "red". The term fratricide may also be used, which technically refers to deliberate attacks upon one's own forces, but which is used as a synonym for accidental friendly fire in military bureaucratic writing (and by the press, which echoes the language).

Related Topics:
British military - Wargaming - Fratricide - Synonym

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