Reply With QuoteTerrible news. We've been speculating in the office about what happened for the last half hour...
SANDF: Training Accident
Nine SA National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers were killed on Friday in a shooting accident during a 35mm MK5 Anti Aircraft Gun training in Bloemfontein.
Another fifteen suffered injuries, said SANDF spokesperson Brigadier General Kwena Mangope.
He said 24 soldiers were taking part in a training event during Exercise Seboka when the accident happened at about 9am.
The injured were taken to various hospitals in Bloemfontein.
"The area where the accident took place has been cordoned off, and the SA Police Service and the Military Police Agency have been called to the scene," Mangope said.
An investigation into the into the accident was underway.
Defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota and SANDF chief General Godfrey Ngwenya extended their condolences to the families of the deceased, he said.
Exercise Seboka is an annual joint conventional military exercise.
Close to 5000 soldiers, including 18 SA Army units and various units from the SA Air Force, SA Navy and the SA Military Health service, take part in the exercise. - Sapa
Will post further details as it becomes available.........
Terrible news. We've been speculating in the office about what happened for the last half hour...
RIP to those killed, ammunition cook off maybe?
Tagic news. RIP.
Any details on what happened?
Newest report on the internet is here.
Private radio station 702 reported witnesses as saying the aircraft gun malfunctioned during the training exercise.
However defence ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi told AFP that it was not yet clear whether the accident had been due to human error or whether something had gone wrong with the weapons being tested.
"We can't know that at this stage, that's what the investigations will confirm," he said.
SABC News is reporting that it was an explosion, no further details yet. RIP to those who died.
Sad news indeed.
RIP
RIP to those killed and a speedy recovery to those injured.
I trained on that weapon in the 80's. I can't for the life of me think what could have killed so many other than if they used it in a night ground fire exercise in the wrong area or there was an ammo cook off.
The other option is when doing a live fire exercise, we shot at a drone which was towed behind a Dakota. This was shot at using manual target aquisition as the fire control radar attached to the weapon would pick upa stronger target ie the Dakota and the plane would be shot down!! Maybe?
Lets see.
Out-of-control gun to blame for 9 soldiers' death in SAfrica: army
Quote:
2 hours ago
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) An out-of-control anti-aircraft gun which malfunctioned before a military training exercise was to blame for the death of nine South African soldiers, an army spokesman said Saturday.
The nine were shot and killed and 15 others were injured on Friday during an annual military exercise at Lohatla Army Battle School in the Northern Cape province, in one of South Africa's worst military accidents in years.
South African National Defence Force spokesman Brigadier-General Kwena Mangope said something mechanical appeared to have gone awry with the computerised 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft twin barreled gun.
"It was a mechanical hitch that caused the accident, we believe," he said adding that the gun had "opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers."
The accident took place during a live-fire exercise as part of Exercise Seboka, an annual joint military exercise involving around 5,000 servicemen and women from the army, airforce and navy.
One of the deceased soldiers was a woman, as were five of those injured.
Mangope said the names of the people killed being released to their families, and it would later be determine when they would be buried.
source
RIP to fellow South Africans.
Since when are the SANDF Oerlikon's computerised?Originally Posted by Lancero
R.I.P.
I think target training is now done by remotely contrlloed drones and has been done so since the early 1990's at least.
RIP to the dead, and a speedy recovery to the injured.
I just don't understand it. It was not an explosion, but they were shot by an automatic system???
RIP to the soldiers that have died.
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/busi...T=Section&O=ST
Anyone seen this article on ItWeb?
"Did software kill soldiers?"
During the shooting trials at Armscor's Alkantpan shooting range, I personally saw a gun go out of control several times, Young says. They made a temporary rig consisting of two steel poles on each side of the weapon, with a rope in between to keep the weapon from swinging. The weapon eventually knocked the polls down.
Young says he was also told at the time that the gun's original equipment manufacturer, Oerlikon, had warned that the GDF Mk V twin 35mm cannon system was not designed for fully automatic control. Yet the guns were automated. At the time, SA was still subject to an arms embargo and Oerlikon played no role in the upgrade.
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