The US Nuclear Force Still Relies On Floppy Disks

Chances are if you handed a kid of this generation a floppy disk, they’ll probably have no idea what it is they are holding in their hands. After all this generation is more used to storage mediums like USB flash drives, external hard drives, or memory cards, which is to be expected since floppy disks are considered to be “ancient” by today’s standards.

However as it turns out despite it being old and outdated technology, it seems that the Pentagon and other US agencies are still relying on floppy disks for some of their activities, like how there is a command and control unit that is tasked with “the operational functions of the nation’s nuclear forces”. Yup, you read that right, somewhere there is an IBM/Series 1 computer that plays a role in controlling the country’s nuclear forces.

For those unfamiliar, the IBM/Series 1 was first produced in 1976, meaning that it is a computer that is around 40 years old. Speaking to AFP, Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Valerie Henderson said, “This system remains in use because, in short, it still works.” This revelation came about after a new government report was released that showed how much money was being spent just trying to maintain outdated systems.

That being said, the US government isn’t alone in this. Last year we reported that there is a high school in the Grand Rapids that still relies on a computer from the 1980s to control its heating system. It’s not the same as controlling nuclear forces, but we guess there are some who don’t see a need to fix what ain’t broke.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Computers, Military
Tags: Security