US military uses 8-inch floppy disks and computers of the 70s to control the nuclear arsenal

For several decades now, the US Department of Defense has been using computer systems with floppy disk drives for 8-inch floppy disks and floppy disks to manage the country's nuclear arsenal. For the first time, computers such as IBM Series / 1 were integrated into the infrastructure of nuclear arsenals back in the 70s of the last century, and they have been used since. Such systems help control functions related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers and some other objects.

The United States Accounts Chamber has compiled a report on the state of the country's nuclear arsenal management infrastructure in order to draw the attention of other government organizations to the problem of outdated equipment in critical areas. In addition, very old computer systems are used in the tax system, federal prisons, and the country's social infrastructure.

“Federal IT systems are becoming increasingly obsolete: many use old software and hardware that is no longer supported ... several systems are used, which, in some cases, are at least 50 years old,” says the Accounts Chamber report .
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IBM Series / 1

As for the Ministry of Defense, it plans to replace outdated computer systems in the near future. “These computers are still used because they are, if briefly, in working condition. However, systems with floppy drives will be replaced by the end of 2017. The upgrade of the Nuclear Command, Control and Communication (NC3) computers has already begun, ”said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.

The Accounts Chamber of the United States plans to take control of the update of the information infrastructure of state structures. Thus, various government organizations are going to oblige to perform checks on their computer systems, determine what needs updating, and replace outdated equipment and software with new ones.

And there is something to update. In the departments of Finance, Commerce, Health and Veteran Affairs, computers of the 80s and 90s are working, respectively, such hardware and software are no longer supported by the manufacturer.

The Social Security Administration provides advertisements for the work of COBOL specialists who are required to maintain computer systems from the 1970s. Used by COBOL and in computers of the US Department of Justice. Last year, the United States Railroad Retirement Board (RBB) Commission began to update its computer infrastructure 50 years ago. She announced a search for a contractor who is able to assist in upgrading computer systems. Organization software contains 7 million lines in the programming language COBOL.