[rbanffy]

> why would you scale all the way to Windows?

For the only reasons such stupid thing happens: the clueless manager wants the machine to run a modern OS and thinks Windows is the most modern OS out there.

post-downvote edit: I am saying nothing about viruses like Stuxnet, designed as weapons tailored to infect specific systems, for which no OS would be safe, but how brain-dead is it to design critical systems that control airborne weapon systems around an OS that's vulnerable to each and every piece of malware known to man?

[tedunangst]

I'd say you're being downvoted because you're rather clueless about the qualifications of the manager designing unmanned drones.

[rbanffy]

Now I am curious. Why would Windows end up in such a system? I would expect an RTOS like QNX (which is not that hard to program).

I agree I am more familiar with corporate IT disasters where some pointy-haired boss decided Windows was the way to go instead of what would be the optimal choice, but I always expected flight-control software to be built with a great amount of attention to every detail.