Blue Force Tracking
Blue Force Tracking
Blue Force Tracking(BFT)is a situational awareness capabilities system used by military forces. Military officials began to take action to curb fratricide( military term for friendly fire) after the Gulf War. 35 of the United States 148 Desert Storm deaths were caused by friendly forces. The United States began testing out a new system called Blue Force Tracking in its operation in Iraq( 2003). This system showed forces a direct location of where they where and the allied forces, and also gave forces better communication. With the allied forces colored Blue and enemy was red, the computerized system give, and continuously updated information to troops all over the battle field. At the beginning of the operation, the United States was testing many different versions of the situation awareness system. They finely they decided on a system called Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below System (FBCB2). The U.S forces in Iraq made the system interoperable with all its forces and British troops in operation == Enduring Freedom ==. Blue Force tracking proved its ability to cut down fratricide in Iraq, and is used by US troops in Afghanistan. Recently the NATO forces in Afghanistan are combining countries forces tracking systems to achieve an interoperable, Friendly Force Tracking system.