ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses factors to consider in the application of automation to aid in reducing fratricide. It considers how automation could be used to aid in fratricide avoidance, and what factors should be taken into account in the design of such systems. The active fratricide avoidance automation would present information to the user and require the user to take action to acknowledge the information. The objective of fratricide avoidance is to reduce the number of fratricide incidents to the lowest level possible while still maintaining effective combat power. The availability of electronic systems makes automation more readily available, including automated systems which can alert users to potential fratricide situations. Net-centric command and control (C2) systems bring additional 'distance' because soldiers see only icons generated by the computer rather than units, vehicles, or individual soldiers. Soldiers must trust the system to correctly classify the target and display the correct icon to distinguish between targets, friendly forces, and civilians.
