Anyone here an expert in Chinook software?

[DimPrawn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7434205.stm

The Ministry of Defence has been accused of a "gold standard cock-up" over eight helicopters which have cost £422m but have yet to fly for the RAF.

To make them suitable for special forces operations, they were configured as the hi-tech Chinook Mk3, equipped with extra "fat" fuel tanks, night-vision equipment and enhanced defensive aids.

They were delivered in 2001 but have been beset by problems with their cockpit software.

Deemed safe to fly only at altitudes above 500ft in clear conditions when the pilot could navigate by sight, they were useless for special forces work and so have been confined to special air-conditioned hangars in Wiltshire.


Who writes this software? UK IT contractors or is it written in India? Come on, own up.

[BrilloPad]

A friend of mine worked on some heat-seaking torpedo software. There was a concern that a torpedo could hit the ship that fired it. Someone came up with the idea that is the torpedo turned 180 degrees then it should self destruct. This was coded up.

They decided to test this - sailed to testing ground and armed some missiles. Fired one, told it to turn 180 degrees and it self destructed. The ship then turned 180 degress and the armed missiles blew up! No one had coded that the missile should only self destruct if fired.

And before you laugh a naval rating lost his life.

[DimPrawn]

A friend of mine worked on some heat-seaking torpedo software. There was a concern that a torpedo could hit the ship that fired it. Someone came up with the idea that is the torpedo turned 180 degrees then it should self destruct. This was coded up.

They decided to test this - sailed to testing ground and armed some missiles. Fired one, told it to turn 180 degrees and it self destructed. The ship then turned 180 degress and the armed missiles blew up! No one had coded that the missile should only self destruct if fired.

And before you laugh a naval rating lost his life.

Fixed in service pack 1?

[Advocate]

Was it the new Joint Strike Fighter that had it's nav systems crash if it crossed the international date line?

[TimberWolf]

The ship then turned 180 degress and the armed missiles blew up!

That would be no use to the Italian Navy then

[Moscow Mule]

A friend of mine worked on some heat-seaking torpedo software. There was a concern that a torpedo could hit the ship that fired it. Someone came up with the idea that is the torpedo turned 180 degrees then it should self destruct. This was coded up.

They decided to test this - sailed to testing ground and armed some missiles. Fired one, told it to turn 180 degrees and it self destructed. The ship then turned 180 degress and the armed missiles blew up! No one had coded that the missile should only self destruct if fired.

And before you laugh a naval rating lost his life.

Half a cigar.

You never arm a torpedo before it's in the tube. And they don't self destruct (like in The Hunt For Red October) they de-activate when they turn 180 degrees.

The story is actually about torpedoes "cooking off" inside a sub due to knackered batteries. The fix was to turn the sub 180 degrees to deactivate the torpedo.

Search internet for USS Scorpion and the book "Blind Mans Bluff" (Sontag et al)

[Spacecadet]

Fixed in service pack 1?

Would have been but no one survived to report the bug

[wobbegong]

Who writes this software? UK IT contractors or is it written in India? Come on, own up.

EDS?

[Troll]

Saw the Public Sector MOD apologist trotting out the 'lessons learned" bollux over this.

I expect no heads will roll

[BrilloPad]

Half a cigar.

You never arm a torpedo before it's in the tube. And they don't self destruct (like in The Hunt For Red October) they de-activate when they turn 180 degrees.

The story is actually about torpedoes "cooking off" inside a sub due to knackered batteries. The fix was to turn the sub 180 degrees to deactivate the torpedo.

Search internet for USS Scorpion and the book "Blind Mans Bluff" (Sontag et al)

So I was told a porkie then!! <-- at person who told me.

It was 1992 I was told this - pre internet age so could not search. Maybe I should have guessed - chap who told me the story wrote a date class using 42 (fourty two) bytes - you can write one using 8! And when he found that people were using Date(0) 1st Jan 1970 to represent null in the database he banned that date! He kept citing theoretical stuff - would not listen to practicalities! In an IB...