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From: SAHARBAUGH@ROO.FIT.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Patriot problem, more info available?
Message-ID: <9106070033.AA16103@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 7 Jun 91 00:30:00 GMT
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In June 6th USA Today there is an Associated Press article titled
"Army knew of problems with Patriot".
The last paragraph says,"The Patriot computer screen did not
show an incoming Scud because the computer software could
not calculate quickly enough the missile's path.  This was
due to two factors not previously encountered simultaneously by 
the Patriot systems in Saudi Arabia: continuous operation
of the computer for four days prior to the moment of
attack, and a faster-than-usual Scud missile."
--
Can anyone furnish more details? I do not read
Aviation Week, maybe they report it in more depth.
I am particularly interested in the connection
between four days of operation and a software failure.
Based on no more than the newspaper article I wonder
if a dynamic memory got fragmented and slow with time.
I believe someone said on this BB that the Patriot
system is not programmed in Ada but there may be a
lesson-learned here for real-time Ada software.
(correction: thats "Aviation Week").
sam harbaugh saharbaugh@ROO.FIT.EDU        
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