Alas, I must retract my endorsement of Lookout's link.
New Scientist (
http://technology.newscientist.com/a...or-deaths.html ) suggests it was simply a
mechanical malfunction, rather than being anything to do with a computer going haywire. The gun still (normally) requires a human in the loop to give the fire order.
I'm sure the mothers of the nine dead feel much better about this now.
Quote:
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Initial reports from a South African newspaper say the Oerlikon 35mm Mk5 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled gun jammed while firing. A female soldier tried to free the shell, but another shell was accidentally fired, causing some rounds in the gun's two near-full ammunition magazines to explode. The gun began firing again and swung in a circle, leaving nine soldiers dead and eleven wounded.
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