US air traffic control still runs on Windows 95 and floppy disks
On Wednesday, acting FAAAdministrator Chris Rocheleautold the House Appropriations Committee that the Federal Aviation Administration plans to replace its aging air traffic control systems, which still rely on floppy disks and Windows 95 computers, Tom's Hardwarereports. The agency has issued a Request For Information to gather proposals from companies willing to tackle the massive infrastructure overhaul.
"The whole idea is to replace the system. No more floppy disks or paper strips," Rocheleau said during the committee hearing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the project "the most important infrastructure project that we've had in this country for decades," describing it as a bipartisan priority.
Most air traffic control towers and facilities across the US currently operate with technology that seems frozen in the 20th century, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing-when it works.Some controllers currently usepaper stripsto track aircraft movements and transfer data between systems using floppy disks, while their computers run Microsoft'sWindows 95 operating system, which launched in 1995.