Latest reports suggest transponder was not working. I think you are wrong about 2 others. At least one and I think both of the other British aircraft related losses were British troups on American aircraft. Neither was thought to be hit by enemy fire. Aircraft crashes of military aircraft are unfortunately fairly common compared to civilian craft due to far more difficult flying environments and missions. We seem to loose almost as many troups from accidents (crashes and friendly fire) as battles in recent conflicts. It's not because the accident rate is ridiculously high, but that other losses are so low compared to historic norms. A great deal of effort has been made to improve communications so the rate of friendly fire incidents are lower than GW1, but the equipment has to be working and used correctly to fulfill its protective function. preventive

Regards,
Mark