Muzlblast,
Before gunpowder, in the midst of battle, there were soldiers killed by their own side since at least 1,000 A.D. Armoured and helmeted men were unable to recognize each other in the midst of battle – their colors being long torn away. That is were the salute comes from – an armoured soldier would raise his visor to identify himself. It's ALWAYS been the same problem – identification!
But why did this particular pilot, from what I can gather, go looking for trouble a second time? And how does one F-16 have all these problems, whilst the accompanying F-16 alongside him, apparently, remains silent and experiences no such life-threatening difficulties whatsoever.
Something really sucks about all this!