Only when they need updates. Hopefully not for normal operations.
i mean they are flying on that updt loaded with that floppy, so...
we shouldn't put too much faith in modern tech anyhow
like GPS especially. I could go on and on about GPS being used so much in the military and the dangers of being too reliant on that. but with commercial airlines, replacing traditional waypoints or whatever, that tell planes on approach runway location, direction and altitude
before they used to be ground based on sent signal up to the aircraft like a ping to measure the distance and calculate position of both runway and craft
now they use GPS
but if either the GPS satellites go down by attack or are 'spoofed' - like how the Russians have been doing to UKR GPS equipment with some success- the aircraft is going to get bad info,, like the wrong altitude. the place can still be on a powered descent while too close to the ground,, etc
we still need redundancies .. the organization that began first use of GPS, the military has begun re-employing redundancies incase of GPS failure/ destruction since UKR war started in 2014
even though the army got rid of my old job- artillery surveyor, they have trained artillery radar operators how to use some survey equipment that works on ground based survey data; reinforced training on map reading and compass use. the navy has reinstituted navigating ships by stars
be a lot of lost Americans driving on the roads if Russia does start taking out the GPS constellation
but i digress...
