US nuke force still using floppy disks — report

A screengrab from a US Department of Defense video shows a nuclear missile silo for a Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, preparing for a test launch. US DOD VIDEO

WASHINGTON, United States — America’s nuclear force still uses floppy disks designed in the 1970s to coordinate some of its functions, according to a watchdog report released Wednesday.

The report by the Government Accountability Office points to a number of worryingly outdated “legacy systems” still in use across the US government that are in desperate need of upgrade.

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A Pentagon command and control system that “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 and uses 8-inch floppy disks, the report notes.

That type of computer debuted in 1976, when Gerald Ford was in the White House.

The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but according to the GAO report, the Pentagon is planning to fully replace the system by the end of 2020.

The GAO said the federal government is spending a lot more on “operations and maintenance” of its computer systems than it is on “development, modernization and enhancement.”

Last year, for instance, the government spent $61.2 billion on operations and maintenance, compared to $19.2 billion in the other category.

The report also found that the Department of the Treasury uses “assembly language code,” which was initially designed in the 1950s.

The Office of Management and Budget has started an initiative to replace the legacy IT systems, “but until this policy is finalized and fully executed, the government runs the risk of maintaining systems that have outlived their effectiveness,” the report states.