Russia's unmanned nuclear retaliation system.

The Perimeter system can automatically order the launch of retaliatory nuclear missiles in the event of a preemptive attack on Russia and the deaths of all high-ranking leaders.

Russia's RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. Photo: Wikicommons

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union designed a nuclear command system called Perimeter, which the US designated as Dead Hand, allowing Moscow to launch a nuclear counterattack even if the command and control lines of its strategic missile forces were destroyed, according to RBTH.

Typically, the control and command of the Soviet Union's Kazbek strategic missile forces were carried out through the famous Cheget nuclear briefcase. However, the drawback of this method was that it still required orders from the supreme commander.

At the height of the Cold War, fearing a preemptive nuclear attack from the United States, the Soviet leadership ordered the development of a new command system to ensure that retaliation could still be launched even if the entire top political and military leadership of the country were killed.

Initially, Soviet scientists employed data backup methods to ensure that control commands would reliably reach every launch crew. Later, they came up with the idea of ​​using ballistic missiles equipped with powerful radio transmitters, acting as communication links to nuclear weapons launch platforms.

On August 30, 1974, secret Soviet decree No. 695-227 assigned the Dnepropetrovsk Design Bureau, an intercontinental ballistic missile manufacturing complex, the task of designing the Perimeter nuclear countermeasures system.

The UR-100UTTKh ballistic missile (NATO designation Spanker) is the centerpiece of this system.Instead of flying directly to the enemy target, ballistic missiles are equipped withtransmission systemIt would fly over Soviet airspace, sending launch commands to all missiles located in underground silos, aircraft, warships, and ground-based launchers.The system operates completely automatically, virtually eliminating the human element.

Test launches showed that all components in the Perimeter system interacted successfully with each other, and the launch signal warhead attached to the missile consistently flew along its intended trajectory.

By November 1984, the missileThe UR-100UTTKh carries a signal-emitting warhead.It was launched from Polotsk and the launch order was given to an RS-20 (SS-18 Satan) ballistic missile silo in Baikonur. This RS-20 was launched and hit its target at the Kura range on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

In January 1985, Perimeter was officially commissioned into the Soviet Union's strategic nuclear deterrence force.

A Russian strategic nuclear ballistic missile silo. Photo: RBTH

No human intervention is required.

The decision to launch the missile is made by an automated control system developed on the basis of sophisticated artificial intelligence. The system receives and analyzes all information about seismic activity, radiation levels, atmospheric pressure, and the concentration of military radio frequencies.

Upon detecting a location with strong ionization and electromagnetic radiation, the system would compare it to unstable seismic data in that same area to determine the likelihood of a massive nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. If so, the "Death Hand" would automatically launch a retaliatory strike.

In the event that senior Soviet leaders received information from the early warning system that another country had launched missiles at them, the "Death Hand" system would also be activated at the alert stage."The Hand of Death"If the order to cancel the alert is not received within the specified time, the missile will be launched.

This would eliminate the human element and ensure a nuclear strike would be possible even if the missile launch and control teams were completely destroyed.

During peacetime, Perimeter continuously analyzes received information. When the system is placed on high alert, or when it receives signals from early warning systems, strategic forces, or other systems, a network of monitoring sensors is activated to identify signs of a nuclear explosion.

To ensure there is no uncontrolled launch, before launch, Perimeter checks for four conditions: whether a nuclear attack has just occurred, based on parameter analysis. If this possibility is indicated, the system then checks whether any communication systems are still connected to the General Staff.

If the military headquarters maintains communication, the Perimeter system will automatically shut down. If the General Staff does not respond, Perimeter will send a request to the commander.strategic missile forcesKazbek. If there is still no response from Kazbek, the control system will allow any commander in the nuclear missile silo to make the decision. Only when no further orders are received will it begin the actual chain of retaliatory actions.

To date, the Perimeter system has been regularly upgraded by Russia to ensure its nuclear retaliation capabilities. "If we are attacked with nuclear weapons, even with lightning speed, under any circumstances, we can ensure a counterattack," General Andrey Burbin, commander of the Central Command of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, affirmed last year.

According to VNE