Italian pilots win cowardice case (anti-missile protection)

[bemildred]

An Italian military tribunal has thrown out cowardice charges against four pilots who had refused to fly in Iraq citing the poor state of their helicopters.

This was disclosed by the men's lawyer in Rome on Wednesday. The ruling was a blow for the army and raised fresh doubts about the effectiveness of Italy's military hardware.

The four pilots served in Iraq last year, but after flying just one mission they refused to take to the air again, saying their helicopters did not have adequate anti-missile protection.

Army top brass said the helicopters were safe and accused the pilots of being cowards. But the tribunal said on Wednesday that the men had no case to answer, indicating that their concerns were justified.

al Jazeera