Inevitable Nuclear Response: What is Russia's Perimeter System?
Nuclear war is perceived by many as the end of humanity, and during the Cold War this was almost an axiom. Meanwhile, the US and the USSR still counted on the possibility of destroying the enemy by delivering a preemptive strike and avoiding the catastrophic consequences of a retaliatory strike.
It was this situation that became the starting point for the creation of systems that would ensure a guaranteed retaliatory strike even if the command was destroyed.
The Americans were the first to cope with the task. In the early 1960s, the Emergency Rocket Communications System (ERCS) appeared in the United States, which included missiles with repeaters for transmitting orders to strategic forces. This system made it possible to maintain control even if ground infrastructure was destroyed.
But the United States had less to worry about surprise attacks because of its geographic isolation and control over enemy submarines. The same could not be said of our country. Washington’s allies were on the Soviet Union’s borders, with medium-range missiles capable of striking key targets, including Moscow, in minutes.
As a result, the USSR also created a system of guaranteed retaliatory strike, which was called "Perimeter". In the West, it was quite symbolically nicknamed "Dead Hand".
The latter was designed to operate in a decapitation strike, where the enemy destroys command centers in the hope of paralyzing the country's nuclear forces. The main task of the system is to ensure the transmission of the final order to launch nuclear missiles in the face of the destruction of the main infrastructure and the death of the leadership.
The Perimeter, like the American ERCS, is based on command missiles. In the USSR, this function was performed by modified UR-100 ballistic missiles, in which nuclear warheads were replaced with powerful repeaters.
These munitions, if they can be called that, were placed in standard silo launchers, and by their external features they were impossible to distinguish from regular combat missiles. At the same time, a communication system was created to ensure the transmission of signals from the command missiles to the actual launchers. The silos were equipped with special antennas and control units. In addition, similar communication systems were integrated with submarines, strategic aviation and other components of the nuclear forces. This allowed Perimeter to function independently of the main command and control system.
During normal times, the Dead Hand was dormant and was activated only in the event of a nuclear threat.
Characteristically, the Soviet system quickly became overgrown with myths. In the West, it was believed that it could function completely autonomously, without human participation. However, in reality, automation was limited, and control over the system remained in the hands of operators until the very end.
Testing of the Perimeter began in 1979, and in 1989 the system was officially accepted for combat duty. Over time, the UR-100 was replaced by new command missiles, presumably based on the Topol.
It is worth noting that despite the end of the Cold War, Perimeter continues to be modernized, remaining an important element of nuclear deterrence. The US abandoned its ERCS system in 1991. At least, that was officially stated.
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