Inevitable Nuclear Response: What is Russia's Perimeter System?

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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.

18 comments
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  1. -9
    18 January 2025 10: 58
    That is: the Russian Federation will respond with a devastating nuclear strike, even in the event of the death of its top leadership?
    And will planet Earth withstand such "mutual care"?
    Under the current circumstances: the probability of mutual destruction increases with the continuation of the Ukrainian-Russian military confrontation...
    But where is the political logic – and where is the Western political class, which is eyeing Russia’s natural resources?
    1. +3
      18 January 2025 11: 30
      I will answer with the words of the Supreme Commander-

      Why do we need peace if there is no Russia in it?

      And so, yes, in the conditions of confrontation not only with Ukraine, but with the entire West, the risk of a nuclear war increases. Moreover, the Russian Federation has not yet seriously stepped on the West's toes, there are plenty of options for this, drawing only red lines, but the West has long been striking its territory with the hands of Ukraine. It remains to hope that any patience comes to an end and a hazelnut or a dagger will fly to those who supply weapons to Ukraine, provoking an escalation of the conflict.
  2. 0
    18 January 2025 11: 57
    It's time to let political decisions be automated. They don't depend on AI's will, which means there will be more sense.
  3. +6
    18 January 2025 12: 28
    No AI can help against betrayal.
    We have had a ton of historical examples over the last 40 years.
  4. -7
    18 January 2025 12: 38
    what is the russian system "Perimeter"

    What does it represent? An illusion for the naive.
    What else can a system that is 50 years old represent?
    1. 0
      18 January 2025 16: 12
      Quote: prior
      An illusion for the naive.

      The system is quite functional, because the missiles are being replaced with more modern ones, and the idea of ​​​​delivering a strike after the apocalypse on Russian territory is not at all outdated.
      So there are no illusions. This is a weapon of retaliation and we won't care when it starts working.
      1. -2
        19 January 2025 09: 34
        The uplifting nature of Perimeter is quite understandable.
        But where does such absolute certainty come from that such a system exists and functions in a country of total chaos? Did Shoigu report it to you or Serdyukov even earlier?
        When was the last time you saw an officer in uniform with a briefcase next to the president?
        Therefore, I have well-founded doubts. I have the right to.
        1. -1
          20 January 2025 07: 54
          This system has simply been mentioned many times by military experts, like Buzhinsky, and the Supreme Commander mentioned it about 10 years ago, and it was mentioned many times to us in lectures at the school. You smiled about the officer in uniform)))) Let me ask you a counter question - have you often seen an officer with a briefcase next to Biden?))) In a country of total chaos?))) It's funny, but in what country is there no such chaos? And what does this chaos consist of? And since the Perimeter system is strictly automated, it has nothing to do with chaos. Radiation and seismic sensors are located throughout the territory of the Russian Federation and in the event of detection of an increase in the background or the capture of numerous seismic vibrations, the source of which was the nuclear missiles, providing the issuance of commands to certain launchers, they are launched, well, and then nothing depends on human participation.
        2. 0
          24 January 2025 16: 18
          Quote: prior
          Therefore, I have well-founded doubts. I have the right to.

          Well, flat-earthers have the same right to doubt that the earth is a sphere, which does not in any way affect the shape of our planet.
          There are so many doubters now that you can’t convince everyone, and there’s no need for it as such.
          The data, of course, is from open sources. No one is prohibited from comparing and analyzing yet.
          And this, if you are interested in the analysis of other people:
          https://pikabu.ru/story/kak_ustroena_sistema_upravleniya_massirovannyim_otvetnyim_yadernyim_udarom_perimetr_aka_mertvaya_ruka_nemnogo_faktov_7450433
          1. 0
            25 January 2025 09: 48
            Blessed is he who believes blindly.
  5. +2
    18 January 2025 18: 53
    Nuclear war is perceived by many as the end of humanity

    Those who were not afraid of the hazel, terrible threats from the Supreme Commander on 24.02.2022 and are still beating with their hands the VSU already far into the country, and this is not the limit, are unlikely to be afraid of the perimeter and the cube and the square with the ball. In a month there will be 3 years of the SVO and does anyone remember how they laughed at the Ukrainian top that they promised to hit to the Urals and Siberia? 3-6 months will pass and our oil refineries, strategic facilities, I will not be surprised at all that they will burn from the unfortunate debris of the "shot down" enemy UAVs. And how will the perimeter help our leadership? Over three years, there have been so many scare stories addressed to the West that they don't give a damn what Medvedev or anyone else will say.
  6. 0
    19 January 2025 09: 16
    IMHO, everyone has somehow gotten used to the fact that our media, “experts” and the Kremlin are frightening us with nuclear weapons.
    Then there are all sorts of Simons, Kadyrovs and Medvedevs...
    They tried to add nuclear weapons to Ukraine, but it turned out to be a dud time after time.

    IMHO, we've already gotten used to the fact that irresponsible, untouchable, empty talkers...
  7. 0
    19 January 2025 11: 09
    we will go to heaven, and they will all die...
    1. +3
      19 January 2025 16: 07
      Well, let him go there in proud solitude.
  8. +2
    19 January 2025 16: 05
    Author, you are wrong. More precisely, the remains of the Soviet "Perimeter" system. One of the components of the system, the "Grid" system, was thoroughly destroyed. So this is all empty chatter.
    1. -1
      20 January 2025 08: 00
      What are the grounds for such bold conclusions?))) Does the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces personally report to you about the state of the Perimeter system?))))))
  9. +1
    21 January 2025 09: 59
    The confession is fresh, but still, it is hard to believe. Somehow, I don't believe the beautiful pictures anymore. It's been 3 years...
  10. +1
    22 January 2025 05: 09
    It looks like a fairy tale.....
    About how great everything will be after we get to Heaven. That would be good,
    but it's a pity that it's impossible to check in advance whether this is true?