Dead Hand (nuclear war)
Encyclopedia
Dead Hand known also as Perimeter, is a Cold-War
-era nuclear-control system used by the Soviet Union
and might still be in use in Russia
. An example of fail-deadly
deterrence, it can automatically trigger the launch of the Russian ICBMs if a nuclear strike is detected by seismic, light, radioactivity and overpressure sensors. By most accounts, it is normally switched off and is supposed to be activated during dangerous crises only.
capability, by ensuring that the destruction of the Soviet leadership would not have prevented the Soviet military from releasing its weapons.
Soviet concern about the issue grew with the U.S. development of highly accurate submarine-launched ballistic missile
(SLBM) systems in the 1980s. Until then, the United States would have delivered most nuclear weapons by long-range bomber or ICBM
. Earlier U.S. sub-launched missiles, such as the 1960s-vintage UGM-27 Polaris
and 1970s-vintage UGM-73 Poseidon
, were considered too inaccurate for a counterforce or first strike — an attack against an opponent's weapons. SLBMs were reserved for attacking cities, where accuracy was of less importance. An opponent with effective radar and satellite surveillance could expect 30 minutes' warning of an attack before the first detonation. This made an effective first strike
difficult, because the opponent would only have time to launch on warning
to reduce the risk of their forces being destroyed on the ground.
Some Game theorists
have argued that, if one country believed it could defeat another's command-and-control system in a first strike, it would attempt to do so. The USSR therefore took steps to ensure that nuclear retaliation, and hence deterrence
, remained possible even if its leadership were destroyed in a surprise attack. In contrast, Thompson argues that Perimeter's function was to limit acts of misjudgment by political or military leaderships in the tight decision making window between SLBM or cruise missile launches, and impact. He quotes Zheleznyakov on the purpose of Perimeter being "to cool down all these hotheads and extremists. No matter what was going to happen, there still would be revenge
."
in a series of interviews to the American defense contractor BDM
admitted the existence of the Dead Hand, making somewhat contradictory statements concerning its deployment.
Colonel General Varfolomey Korobushin, former Deputy Chief of Staff of Strategic Rocket Forces
, in his 1992 interview admitted that the Russians had a system which would automatically launch all missiles, triggered by a combination of light, radioactivity and overpressure, even if every nuclear command center and all of their leaders were destroyed. According to him, the system was to be activated only during a crisis.
Colonel General Andrian Danilevich, Assistant for Doctrine and Strategy to the Chief of the General Staff in 1984–90, stated in 1992 in an interview that the Dead Hand had been contemplated, but the Soviets considered automatic trigger systems too dangerous, furthermore they became unnecessary with the advent of efficient early warning systems and increased missile readiness, so the idea had been rejected.
In 1993 Vitaly Katayev, Senior Adviser to the Chairman of the Defense Industry Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in 1967–85, responsible for strategic arms and defense policy, arms control negotiations and military doctrine, confirmed in an interview to John G. Hines that the Dead Hand had been "definitely operational" by the early 1980s. According to him, it was not completely automatic, supposed to be activated manually during a threatening crisis. It was to be triggered by numerous sensors sensitive to light, seismic shock, radiation or atmospheric density.
Although both Katayev and Korobushin claimed that the mechanism had already been deployed, Viktor Surikov, Deputy Director of the Central Scientific Research Institute for General Machine Building (TsNIIMash
) in 1976–92, confirmed in a 1993 interview that they had designed the automatic launch system with seismic, light and radiation sensors, but said that the design had been ultimately rejected by Marshal Sergey Akhromeyev on advice of Korobushin and never materialized.
Accounts differ as to the degree of automation of Dead Hand.
In a 1993 issue of The New York Times
:
The communication missile would work similarly to the US Emergency Rocket Communications System
(ERCS).
However, more recent sources indicate the system was semi-automatic. In a 2007 article, Ron Rosenbaum quotes Blair as saying that Dead Hand is "designed to ensure semi-automatic retaliation to a decapitating strike." Rosenbaum writes, "Of course, there's a world of difference between a 'semi-automatic' doomsday device
and the totally automatic — beyond human control — doomsday device."
David Hoffman wrote on the semi-automatic nature of Dead Hand:
magazine claimed Dead Hand exists, is ready to react as intended, and still receives system upgrades.
A similar automatic retaliation system called the "Doomsday Machine" is also featured prominently in the movie Dr. Strangelove. The system depicted there is however completely automatic, and impossible to shut down. Thus, an American nuclear bomb dropped by accident on the Soviet Union causes an automatic full-scale retaliation and the extinction of all life on Earth.
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
-era nuclear-control system used by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and might still be in use in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. An example of fail-deadly
Fail-deadly
Fail-deadly is a concept in nuclear military strategy which encourages deterrence by guaranteeing an immediate, automatic and overwhelming response to an attack. The term fail-deadly was coined as a contrast to fail-safe.-Military usage:...
deterrence, it can automatically trigger the launch of the Russian ICBMs if a nuclear strike is detected by seismic, light, radioactivity and overpressure sensors. By most accounts, it is normally switched off and is supposed to be activated during dangerous crises only.
Motivation
The purpose of the "Dead Hand" system, as described in a book of the same name, was to maintain a second strikeSecond strike
In nuclear strategy, a second strike capability is a country's assured ability to respond to a nuclear attack with powerful nuclear retaliation against the attacker...
capability, by ensuring that the destruction of the Soviet leadership would not have prevented the Soviet military from releasing its weapons.
Soviet concern about the issue grew with the U.S. development of highly accurate submarine-launched ballistic missile
Submarine-launched ballistic missile
A submarine-launched ballistic missile is a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead that can be launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles each of which carries a warhead and allows a single launched missile to...
(SLBM) systems in the 1980s. Until then, the United States would have delivered most nuclear weapons by long-range bomber or ICBM
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
. Earlier U.S. sub-launched missiles, such as the 1960s-vintage UGM-27 Polaris
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....
and 1970s-vintage UGM-73 Poseidon
UGM-73 Poseidon
The Poseidon missile was the second US Navy ballistic missile system, powered by a two-stage solid fuel rocket. It succeeded the Polaris missile beginning in 1972, bringing major advances in warheads and accuracy...
, were considered too inaccurate for a counterforce or first strike — an attack against an opponent's weapons. SLBMs were reserved for attacking cities, where accuracy was of less importance. An opponent with effective radar and satellite surveillance could expect 30 minutes' warning of an attack before the first detonation. This made an effective first strike
First strike
In nuclear strategy, a first strike is a preemptive surprise attack employing overwhelming force. First strike capability is a country's ability to defeat another nuclear power by destroying its arsenal to the point where the attacking country can survive the weakened retaliation while the opposing...
difficult, because the opponent would only have time to launch on warning
Launch on warning
Launch on warning is a strategy of nuclear weapon retaliation that gained recognition during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. With the invention of intercontinental ballistic missiles , launch on warning became an integral part of mutually assured destruction theory...
to reduce the risk of their forces being destroyed on the ground.
Some Game theorists
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
have argued that, if one country believed it could defeat another's command-and-control system in a first strike, it would attempt to do so. The USSR therefore took steps to ensure that nuclear retaliation, and hence deterrence
Deterrence theory
Deterrence theory gained increased prominence as a military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons, and features prominently in current United States foreign policy regarding the development of nuclear technology in North Korea and Iran. Deterrence theory however was...
, remained possible even if its leadership were destroyed in a surprise attack. In contrast, Thompson argues that Perimeter's function was to limit acts of misjudgment by political or military leaderships in the tight decision making window between SLBM or cruise missile launches, and impact. He quotes Zheleznyakov on the purpose of Perimeter being "to cool down all these hotheads and extremists. No matter what was going to happen, there still would be revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
."
Operation
In the early 1990s several former high-ranking members of the Soviet military and the Central Committee of the Communist PartyCentral Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
in a series of interviews to the American defense contractor BDM
Braddock Dunn & McDonald
Braddock, Dunn & McDonald, later known as BDM, then BDM International, was a technical services firm founded in 1959 in New York City. Its founders were Dr. Joseph V. Braddock, Dr. Bernard J. Dunn, and Dr. Daniel F. McDonald, who each received a PhD from Fordham University in the Bronx, New York....
admitted the existence of the Dead Hand, making somewhat contradictory statements concerning its deployment.
Colonel General Varfolomey Korobushin, former Deputy Chief of Staff of Strategic Rocket Forces
Strategic Rocket Forces
The Strategic Missile Troops or Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or RVSN RF , transliteration: Raketnye voyska strategicheskogo naznacheniya Rossiyskoy Federatsii, literally Missile Troops of Strategic Designation of the Russian Federation) are a military branch of the Russian...
, in his 1992 interview admitted that the Russians had a system which would automatically launch all missiles, triggered by a combination of light, radioactivity and overpressure, even if every nuclear command center and all of their leaders were destroyed. According to him, the system was to be activated only during a crisis.
Colonel General Andrian Danilevich, Assistant for Doctrine and Strategy to the Chief of the General Staff in 1984–90, stated in 1992 in an interview that the Dead Hand had been contemplated, but the Soviets considered automatic trigger systems too dangerous, furthermore they became unnecessary with the advent of efficient early warning systems and increased missile readiness, so the idea had been rejected.
In 1993 Vitaly Katayev, Senior Adviser to the Chairman of the Defense Industry Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in 1967–85, responsible for strategic arms and defense policy, arms control negotiations and military doctrine, confirmed in an interview to John G. Hines that the Dead Hand had been "definitely operational" by the early 1980s. According to him, it was not completely automatic, supposed to be activated manually during a threatening crisis. It was to be triggered by numerous sensors sensitive to light, seismic shock, radiation or atmospheric density.
Although both Katayev and Korobushin claimed that the mechanism had already been deployed, Viktor Surikov, Deputy Director of the Central Scientific Research Institute for General Machine Building (TsNIIMash
TsNIIMash
TsNIIMash is an initialism for the Central Research Institute of Machine Building , which is the institute of the Russian aeronautics and space agency and specializes in the development of long range ballistic missiles, air defense missiles, and propulsion units for defense sectors...
) in 1976–92, confirmed in a 1993 interview that they had designed the automatic launch system with seismic, light and radiation sensors, but said that the design had been ultimately rejected by Marshal Sergey Akhromeyev on advice of Korobushin and never materialized.
Accounts differ as to the degree of automation of Dead Hand.
In a 1993 issue of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
:
The communication missile would work similarly to the US Emergency Rocket Communications System
Emergency Rocket Communications System
The Emergency Rocket Communications System was a back-up communications method for the United States National Command Authority, using a UHF repeater placed atop a Blue Scout rocket or Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile. ERCS was deactivated as a communication means when President...
(ERCS).
However, more recent sources indicate the system was semi-automatic. In a 2007 article, Ron Rosenbaum quotes Blair as saying that Dead Hand is "designed to ensure semi-automatic retaliation to a decapitating strike." Rosenbaum writes, "Of course, there's a world of difference between a 'semi-automatic' doomsday device
Doomsday device
A doomsday device is a hypothetical construction — usually a weapon, or collection of weapons — which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly the Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing "doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth...
and the totally automatic — beyond human control — doomsday device."
David Hoffman wrote on the semi-automatic nature of Dead Hand:
Current use
It is not known whether Russia continues to use the system, and it is possible that it is still in place. Some commentators say the system never operated in fully automatic mode. A 2009 article in WiredWired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
magazine claimed Dead Hand exists, is ready to react as intended, and still receives system upgrades.
In popular culture
Deadhand is used by the villain in the 2nd book of J.C. Hutchins' 7th Son Trilogy to take out NORAD's satellites and destroy Saudi Arabia's oil facilities. The missiles are reprogrammed by a Trojan Horse planted in the central Perimeter database in Moscow.A similar automatic retaliation system called the "Doomsday Machine" is also featured prominently in the movie Dr. Strangelove. The system depicted there is however completely automatic, and impossible to shut down. Thus, an American nuclear bomb dropped by accident on the Soviet Union causes an automatic full-scale retaliation and the extinction of all life on Earth.
See also
- Fail-deadlyFail-deadlyFail-deadly is a concept in nuclear military strategy which encourages deterrence by guaranteeing an immediate, automatic and overwhelming response to an attack. The term fail-deadly was coined as a contrast to fail-safe.-Military usage:...
- Mount YamantawMount YamantawMount Yamantau is in the Ural Mountains, Bashkortostan, Russia. The name means bad mountain in the Bashkir language . It is also known as Mount Yamantaw. It stands at 1,640 metres and is the highest mountain in the southern Urals...
- Letters of last resortLetters of last resortThe letters of last resort are four identically-worded, hand written letters written by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to the four captains of the four British ballistic missile submarines...
- UVB-76, a numbers stationNumbers stationA numbers station is a shortwave radio station of uncertain origin. In the 1950s, Time magazine reported that the numbers stations first appeared shortly after World War II and were using a format that had been used to send weather data during that war.Numbers stations generally broadcast...
outside of MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, possibly part of the system - Dr. Strangelove