This news is a bit old, but important just the same: Patriot missiles have once again locked their sights on to coalition aircraft, the Washington Post reports.

"A Patriot system about 30 miles south of the Iraqi city of Najaf apparently 'locked on' to an Air Force F-16 fighter and prepared to fire. The F-16 responded by firing a high-speed anti-radiation HARM missile at the battery, destroying its radar dish," according to the paper. "No one was injured in the strike -- and the F-16's response might have saved the crew's lives. But it came a day after a Patriot missile shot down a British Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 fighter near the Kuwaiti border, killing both crew members."

My recent Wired News story has details on the "new and improved" Patriots.