Is there a time machine in Area51? The U.S. nuclear weapons system still runs on a 1970s-era computing system that uses 8-inch floppy disks

The U.S. nuclear weapons system still runs on a 1970s-era computing system that uses 8-inch floppy disks, according to a newly released report from the Government Accountability Office. That's right. It relies on memory storage that hasn't been commonly used since the 1980s… The GAO report found that the Pentagon's Strategic Automated Command and Control System—which "coordinates the operational functions of the United States' nuclear forces, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers, and tanker support aircrafts"—runs on an IBM Series/1 Computer, first introduced in 1976. The system's primary function is to "send and receive emergency action messages to nuclear forces," the report adds, but "replacement parts for the system are difficult to find because they are now obsolete."






[link to www.esquire.com (secure)]