Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!samsung!olivea!oliveb!veritas!amdcad!amdcad!military
From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Patriot vs Scud
Keywords: Software glitch
Message-ID: <1991May8.034421.11040@amd.com>
Date: 7 May 91 22:42:35 GMT
Sender: military@amd.com
Organization: The Boeing Co., MMST, Seattle, Wa.
Lines: 19
Approved: military@amd.com


From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt)


According to the latest issue of 'Army Times' the Scud that struck
the barracks and killed 28 soldiers was not detected by the Patriot
missile battery guarding the area.  It was described as "a glitch in
the internal working of the system."  

The fault was contained in a very complex problem-solving portion
of the system's software.  The incoming Scud was picked up internally
by the battery's computers, but was 'never filtered through the
computational process,' and therefore never showed up on the screen.

Once the fault was traced, it was "a simple fix."  The Scud was intact
on impact, and had not broken up as it descended. 


mike schmitt