Let's ask the US Air Force, who when trying to deploy their brand spanking new F-22 Air-supremacy fighter to Japan the other week, and to turn back to Hawaii due to an initially unspecified computer bug.
Well - it is finally come out what that bug actually was.
The International Date Line.
Yep - you heard me. A line on a map - caused the computers on 6 F-22's to lock up. And the planes had to follow (yes - follow) their escort tankers back to Hawaii.
Here is the thread over on DefenseTech about this. I really like the comment in the most recent AP story - that said one of the pilots was able to contact a Lockheed-Martin engineer and try to reboot the computer.
What did this guy have his Cellphone w/ him? And was talking and flying at the same time? If he was - he must be Superman - since most people I see DRIVING and talking on a cellphone can barely handle it.
So - now that you know what a bug did to a bunch of brand spanking new Air Force planes - are your computers updated for the revised DST change next week ;) ?
If you want more info on the F-22's and their initial overseas deployment - keep an eye on David Axe. He is a Military Tech correspondent for Defense Tech International, and also publishes his stories on Wired's new Blog - the Danger Room (run by the guy who used to be in charge of the DefenseTech blog at Military.com).
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