Until June 2019, the system sending launch orders to US nuclear forces ran on 8-inch floppy disks; the Air Force kept them partly because they could not be hacked online

The U.S. Department of Defense has relied on outdated technology for critical systems, including nuclear command. Recent reports highlight the extensive maintenance costs associated with these legacy systems. Many systems have yet to be modernized, exposing them to security vulnerabilities over time. While a shift to digital technology may seem beneficial, expertise to maintain older systems remains scarce.