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The story
It’s been reported that airport systems run by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) relied on floppy disks until recently. The update is expected to be completed by the end of 2028, but Japan also had government systems still running on floppy disks until 2024 — so this isn’t just a case of “America falling behind.” On 5ch forums, the discussion ranged from hospitals that still use fax machines to claims that the US nuclear weapons control system once ran on 8-inch floppy disks, sparking talk about the surprising resilience and safety of legacy technology.
America’s skies were being protected by floppy disks. The Federal Aviation Administration is updating its systems for the first time in decades.
Japan, too, was using floppy disks until 2024.
This isn’t really a “wow, America’s surprisingly behind too” story. In Japan as well, floppy disks were still in active use until quite recently.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
America uses fax too, you know
I've got a USB floppy drive stashed away
Wait, you think floppy disks are analog?
Sorry… (my bad)
(I meant) offline storage
Apparently the recording density is something like 1000x what it used to be.
If you snap off the write-protect notch, it can't be overwritten. (´・ω・`)
Like SuperDisk — nobody even owns a drive for those anymore
So it might actually be great for hiding shady stuff lol
Hide it on a Sharp X1's 3-inch floppy… (not 3.5-inch, 3-inch)
Nope. Stone and paper are still the strongest [storage media] out there
Clay tablets have about 5,000 years of track record
Plus they're a recyclable natural material
For removable media, MO (magneto-optical disk) is probably the strongest option right now?
Though finding a drive that can actually read/write them is extremely tough… (；´･ω･)
And that satisfying *click-clack* sound when you insert one? That's come full circle to being kind of great
I love the sound it makes while it's reading
Some people mock Japan like it's the only one still doing this, but…
The more legacy something is, the more rock-solid it often turns out to be
There was talk about ramping up LTO tape production, right?
Those old reel-to-reel tapes… what were they even called? Something like "6250," though I don't really know the details
I heard that as recently as 10 years ago, nuclear weapons systems were still running on floppy disk drives
America's nuclear system ran on 8-inch floppy disk drives
That's huge (no doubt about it)
ICBM warhead control is still running on an 80286 chip from 50 years ago, even today
And get this — I haven't changed the battery in 40 years, and it still works
No way, that's gotta be a lie. Batteries definitely degrade over time
Pocket computers really are the best. You can keep tinkering with them forever
There's even a new book coming out about pocket computers
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HWhtC0JbQAABKlX.jpg
I really do think I haven't replaced it. Even if I did, it would've been more than 30 years ago
Though maybe it's because lately I only use it a few minutes, a few times a year
No electrode corrosion or leakage? Your storage conditions must be amazing
That battery life is abnormally good. Kind of hard to believe
From a security standpoint, that seems like an urgent need in this field
MO disks, right? Yeah, good point
As long as it's portable storage that isn't designed to require a network connection, does it really need to be a floppy disk specifically?
You really shouldn't be connecting that to the internet
Vendor: "No can do, we've got a 24-hour maintenance contract, we need the network connection"
No idea how it works, but apparently you can remote-control stuff even without a network connection
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
As background to this story: old storage media like floppy disks and fax machines have remained in long-term use across government, healthcare, and military sectors partly because of the high cost of upgrading systems, and partly because staying offline — not connected to a network — makes them inherently more secure. The claim raised in the thread that “the US nuclear weapons system ran on 8-inch floppy disks” isn’t an urban legend; it’s a fact once reported by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). Opinions in the thread split over whether to laugh at this legacy technology as “behind the times” or praise it as “a deliberate security measure to stay off the network,” with several commenters also pointing out that magnetic tape and MO disks remain in active use today. One point readers may easily misread is that this looks like a uniquely American problem — but Japan, too, had government systems still running on floppy disks until 2024.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “US Airport Systems Were Using Floppy Disks — FAA Updating Systems for First Time in Decades, Completion Expected End of 2028.”
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