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Nick Butterly, The Advertiser:

A Royal Australian Air Force Hercules was forced to take evasive action when a missile was fired at it over Baghdad. The incident occurred on March 9, just a few months after the crash of a British Hercules killed 10 men, including Australian Paul Pardoel.

The British Ministry of Defence confirmed last week the British Hercules had been shot down by insurgents, but was unable to say what type of missile was used.

The Australian Hercules is believed to have fired chaff and flares after receiving a "lock-on" signal from a surface-to-air missile system close to Baghdad.

The Defence Department confirmed in a statement that a RAAF C-130J "flying out of Baghdad observed the launch of a surface-to-air missile".

"In response, the crew deployed counter measures and took evasive action before completing their mission without further incident," the department said.

It is not known how close the missile came to the aircraft, or who was on board at the time.

Defence said the incident highlighted the effectiveness of its training of personnel and the quality and hardiness of the Hercules aircraft.

"We continue to monitor the threat situation in Iraq and make appropriate adjustments to our procedures in order to minimise any possible threat to our people," the statement read.

Military sources in London last week said the Royal Air Force Hercules that crashed in Iraq on January 20 had been shot down.

"We know it was a projectile but we do not know yet which kind," an officer said.

It was said something as crude as a rocket-propelled grenade – a basic Soviet-era weapon with no computer guidance system – could have been used to bring the RAF Hercules down.

There have been other reports suggesting the RAF Hercules was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile that insurgents obtained from Iran. READ MORE

Flight Lieutenant Pardoel, 35, who was married with three children, was working on the British aircraft as a navigator. His funeral is likely to take place in Canberra around April 8.

In June last year, an American contractor travelling on a RAAF Hercules was killed when a "single bullet" hit the aircraft.