Ada: Achilles' Heel or Force Multiplier?

This paper analyzes the utility of Ada as a standard Department of Defense programming language for the development of the software that is now crucial to our national security. The paper documents DoDs burgeoning requirements for software, and emphasizes why force multiplication is imperative in a period of declining national defense resources. After examining the evolution of DoDs software programming efforts, the paper analyzes Adas strengths and weaknesses. The study concludes with an assessment and integration of Adas past and present in terms of conclusions and recommendations which bear on Adas future. The weak DoD commitment to the 1983 mandate to use Ada-which was technically premature--is no longer justified. Adas modern software practices make a distinct difference in the robustness, reusability, adaptability, and maintainability of military software. Ada offers the distinct advantage of compounding its inherent force multiplication capabilities across hundreds of DoD programs--which are themselves force multipliers for their respective systems. Ada is not an Achilles heel for DoD weapon systems, but rather an indispensable force multiplier.