U.S. ARMY ADMITS TO PAC-3 ID PROBLEMS

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The U.S. Army has acknowledged that its Patriot missiledefense system has been hampered by difficulty in telling friend from foe. A U.S. Central Command investigation said the Patriot system'sidentificationfriend- foe transponder failed to operate properly during the U.S.-led warin Iraq. The command said the failure of the IFF led to the firing of aPatriot interceptor that downed a British-origin Tornado fighter-jet onMarch 22, 2003.