According to a report, the defence department systems that co-ordinate missiles, bombers and aircraft are still running on a 1970s system that uses eight-inch floppy disks THERE is a widely held belief that the US won the Cold War because its free market, capitalist economy allowed it to outspend the USSR and win the arms race, especially when it came to new, hi-tech weapon systems. If that was true then, it is now time to be afraid. Very afraid.According to a US government report, the defence department systems that co-ordinate intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers and tanker support aircraft in the US are still running on an IBM Series-1 Computer, a 1970s system that uses eight-inch floppy disks. But the Pentagon insists they’re safe for the purpose, as they "still work".The government accountability office reveals that the Pentagon is one of several where "legacy systems" are in urgent need of modernisation. It says taxpayers spent $61bn a year on the maintenance o...
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