Staffing will remain the the biggest challenge. Attracting scientists and mathematicians who understand the problem domain of what this body of Fortran represents is critical. These persons will either lead continued development in Fortran or oversee the AI conversion onto another platform.
COBOL has outlasted my hacking period (52 and counting) so yeah, Fortran can survive as long as those “dusty decks” run and generate value. If people truly know how to develop and maintain programs, the language itself is just a detail.
