U.S. Defense Department Still Using 8-Inch Floppy Disks to Coordinate Nuclear Force Operations

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH FLOPPY DISKS … “WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME”

As reported at CNBC, the United States Department of Defense is still using 8 inch floppy disks in 2016. Are you kidding me, I had no idea they were even still available. According to the report, the 8-inch floppy disks are used in a computer system that coordinates the operational functions of the nation’s nuclear forces. UNREAL. So lets get this straight, we are spending tax payer dollars on the US military and national defense for military trans-gender sensitivity training and creating a “green Navy fleet,” but they can’t see to upgrade the IT systems that handle and coordinate nuclear force operations?

Maybe they use the ’80s flick “War Games” as a training film, too.

The U.S. Defense Department is still using — after several decades — 8-inch floppy disks in a computer system that coordinates the operational functions of the nation’s nuclear forces, a jaw-dropping new report reveals.

The Defense Department’s 1970s-era IBM Series/1 Computer and long-outdated floppy disks handle functions related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers and tanker support aircraft, according to the new Government Accountability Office report.

The department’s outdated “Strategic Automated Command and Control System” is one of the 10 oldest information technology investments or systems detailed in the sobering GAO report, which calls for a number of federal agencies “to address aging legacy systems.”

The report shows that creaky IT systems are being used to handle important functions related to the nation’s taxpayers, federal prisoners and military veterans, as well as to the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
“Federal legacy IT systems are becoming increasingly obsolete: Many use outdated software languages and hardware parts that are unsupported,” the report found. “Agencies reported using several systems that have components that are, in some cases, at least 50 years old.”