The US nuclear forces’ Dr. Strangelove-era messaging system finally got rid of its floppy disks

In 2014, “60 Minutes” made famous the 8-inch floppy disks used by one antiquated Air Force computer system that, in a crisis, could receive an order from the president to launch nuclear missiles from silos across the United States.

But no more. At long last, that system, the Strategic Automated Command and Control System or SACCS, has dumped the floppy disk, moving to a “highly-secure solid state digital storage solution” this past June, said Lt. Col. Jason Rossi, commander of the Air Force’s 595th Strategic Communications Squadron.

These are incredibly difficult systems to upgrade, so this is no small feat.

11 Comments

  1. 2019-10-19 1:50 am
    • 2019-10-20 6:24 am
      • 2019-10-20 10:36 am
        • 2019-10-20 12:24 pm
          • 2019-10-21 7:15 am
        • 2019-10-21 7:46 am
          • 2019-10-21 10:58 am
  2. 2019-10-19 7:20 am
    • 2019-10-21 7:18 am
  3. 2019-10-20 8:19 am
    • 2019-10-21 7:50 am