Dodging Friendly Fire

Iraqi tanks perched on the north side of a sand ridge near the Saudi-Kuwait border were firing at a company of U.S. Marines on the south side. The Marines were returning fire with TOW antitank missiles. Overhead, a U.S. Air Force A- 10 Thunderbolt swooped toward one of the Iraqi tanks and released a heat- seeking Maverick missile.

But instead of flying straight for the target, the missile was diverted by the hot exhaust of a Marine light armored vehicle that stood between the U.S. plane and the Iraqi tank. The Maverick smacked into the left rear side of the LAV,...

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