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Disguising military assets as civilian is a practice known as perfidy, which is a war crime in some contexts.
The U.S.’s already highly contested September 2 strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea was reportedly carried out by an aircraft that the military disguised as a civilian plane, seemingly using the practice of perfidy, a war crime.
The initial attack in the U.S.’s boat strike campaign was carried out by a plane that was painted to look like a civilian aircraft — lacking the grey color and markings typical of a military plane. It also secretly carried munitions in its fuselage, rather than visibly under its wings, The New York Times reported Monday, citing officials briefed on the strike.
Disguising military assets as civilian ones is a practice known as perfidy, which is illegal under international law, and is also barred within U.S. military guidelines. By disguising U.S. warplanes as civilian ones, the Pentagon makes it more likely that civilians will be harmed in the future.
The plane flew low enough for the people onboard the boat to see the plane, officials who were briefed said. This makes the action a war crime, the Times reports, citing former Air Force deputy judge advocate general Steven Lepper, who said that making a disguised plane visible to the targets can lull them into a false sense of security that would prevent them from taking evasive action or surrendering.
