German Navy Seeks New Storage Solution for F123 Frigates to Replace 30-Year-Old Floppy Drives
TapTechNews July 11th news, the German Navy is seeking a new storage solution for its Brandenburg-class F123 frigates to replace the 8-inch floppy disk drives that have been in service for 30 years and run key systems on the warships. According to the official tender documents, the ideal solution is to adopt a floppy disk alternative based on storage simulation.
The Brandenburg-class F123 frigates entered service in the mid-1990s, when floppy disks were still considered a convenient removable storage medium. It is reported that these floppy drives are part of the frigate's data acquisition system, so they are crucial for essential warship functions such as controlling propulsion and power generation.
The F123 frigate is specifically designed for anti-submarine missions, and its weapon systems and weapon control systems are also being upgraded. Swedish company Saab is the general contractor for the F123 modernization upgrade project.
It is not easy to seamlessly replace these computer hardware that have been in service for thirty years while maintaining all the functions of the existing floppies. However, in recent years, other companies have also encountered similar problems and successfully solved them. For example, the amateur enthusiast community has developed floppy disk simulators like Gotek that can simulate a variety of floppy disk drive standards and formats. Therefore, the selectable solutions already exist, and the key lies in which company the German Navy will eventually choose to deliver this project.
In April this year, TapTechNews reported on the San Francisco train control system that relies on floppy disks and its modernization work. Another example in the military is the US Strategic Automatic Command and Control System (SACCS), which also relied on 8-inch floppy disks until it transitioned to a solid-state storage solution in 2019.
However, the largest-scale elimination of floppy disks may be the Japanese government. Earlier this month, Japanese Digital Minister Kono Taro announced measures to completely eliminate floppy disks, which had previously been an essential part of various official regulatory documents in Japan.