Air Force Command and Control Information Processing in the 1980s

An estimate of the characteristics and capabilities of data-processing systems, subsystems, and components likely to be available or developed for Air Force command and control system applications in the 1980s. The "surprise-free" approach used provides results that do not depend on technological breakthroughs for their validity but presupposes that device technology will steadily improve over the next 15-20 years, approaching its physical limits in the 1990s. Indications are that more capable and less costly hardware implementation can (1) considerably reduce problems associated with the generation, validation, and transferability of software; (2) make the memory and I/0 systems transparent to the programmer; (3) achieve direct execution of higher-order language programs; and (4) provide hardware aids for implementing data security and privacy. There is a need to develop (1) a higher-capacity airborne data processor for airborne command post use; (2) a larger-capacity, airborne mass memory; and (3) the nuclear-effects survivability of computer hardware.