Nuclear hand of death. The "Perimeter" system, nicknamed in the West "Dead Hand". Media about "Perimeter"
The leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense is working to improve the “Dead Hand” nuclear strike control system, also known as “Perimeter”. The “Dead Hand” is Russia’s last defense in the event of the outbreak of World War III, guaranteeing the complete destruction of its enemies. Dubbed a "doomsday machine" by analysts, it was first developed during the paranoid years of the Cold War.
Dr. Bruce Blair, one of the world's leading experts on nuclear weapons, told the Daily Star that he believes the system is still operational and even being "improved." According to him, the development of the system was stimulated by the fear of a “decapitating” US nuclear strike against the leadership of the USSR.
The "dead hand" is described as a "fully automatic" system that is activated in times of crisis. It is managed by three specialists whose job is to make sure that no one interferes with its operation. Sensors detect nuclear explosions throughout Russia and loss of communication with the command post. After this, the system fires a command rocket, sending signals that simultaneously activate all the missiles located in the launch silos and missile launchers.
Despite the terrifying concept, Dr Blair, co-founder of the International Global Zero Movement, says the existence similar weapons actually helps reduce risk nuclear war. At the same time, he is concerned about the “vulnerability of the system to cyber attacks” as a global security problem. The Dead Hand system means that the West will always have to think twice when tempted to launch a nuclear strike.
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Corriere Della Sera 06/19/2017 British equivalent " Dead hand" - Letters of Last Resort: handwritten letters by the British Prime Minister with orders for the command of submarines equipped nuclear missiles Trident.The Dead Hand system is believed to be located in a deep underground bunker south of Moscow.
The system is capable of delivering strikes even if the military command and control system is destroyed as a result of the first US strike. The command missile fired by the Dead Hand is believed to be capable of issuing attack commands Russian troops in any part of the world, including bombers and submarines. This means that even a tactical strike that completely destroyed the top echelon Russian leadership- for example, Putin - will not prevent the outbreak of the apocalypse of the Third World War.
Dead Hand is also said to reduce the chance of accidental nuclear strike, transferring control of the second strike missiles to an automatic system. Fears of nuclear war have turned into reality almost repeatedly, with false alarms for both Russia and the US almost leading to Armageddon.
According to Dr. Blair, the Dead Hand is fully automatic except that it must be activated by General Staff during a crisis, and there is a small team to perform a small number of operations before launch. This team is not among the high-ranking officers. She will simply follow the instructions, and therefore the human factor will not matter. The effect of Pavlov's dog will come into play here.
This will also take away the intense pressure on leaders to retaliate immediately. Thus, this can reduce the risk of a false alert.
The existence of the "Dead Hand" was confirmed by the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces Sergei Karakaev in 2011. Blair described the system as a "legal and ethical" way of preventing nuclear war from the perspective of deterrence theory. He believes that Russia is handing over control over its nuclear weapons automatic system due to historical mistrust of its own military. This is what “forced us to focus on automation and high-tech precautions,” the specialist believes.
It seems that Russia and the West are entering an era of a new Cold War. The scandal surrounding the poisoning of Sergei Skripal with the Novichok nerve gas is deepening the confrontation. In connection with the incident, more than 100 Russian diplomats were expelled around the world, including 60 from the United States. Russia warned that the West's decision was a "mistake." Putin and the Kremlin have denied any involvement in the assassination attempt on Skripal, and say Britain has no evidence of Russian involvement in the case. Russia announced military exercises. The crisis looks set to continue as the world awaits Putin's "final decision" on how to respond to Western actions.
InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editorial board of InoSMI.
The American magazine “Wired” writes in fear (original in English) : Russia has the only weapon in the world that guarantees a retaliatory nuclear strike against the enemy, even in the terrible event that we no longer have anyone to decide on this strike. The unique system counterattacks automatically – and brutally.
Imagine the worst possible scenario. The world, teetering on the very brink of war, collapsed. The patience of the “Western democracies” has been exhausted, and across the territory Soviet Union a pre-emptive nuclear strike was launched. Deadly missiles were launched from silo launchers, submarines and aircraft. The full power of many thousands of warheads fell on cities and military installations. And while the Soviet leadership, in shock and panic, was figuring out what had happened, whether it was a mistake, and how to correct the situation, there was nothing left to correct.
Major cities, industrial and military centers, control and communications centers were destroyed in a single massive strike. The powerful nuclear arsenal of the USSR simply did not have time to be used: the command did not come, and in the absence of a leadership center, the dangerous rival is blind, mute and motionless. But at the very moment when NATO generals raise their glasses of victory, something unimaginable happens. The enemy, who had been silent for what seemed like forever, seemed to come to life. Thousands of rockets rushed towards Western countries- and before the generals had time to finish off the bottle of champagne, many of them, having broken through with such efforts, built missile defense, wiped off the face of the earth big cities, military bases, command centers. Nobody won.
This is how the Perimeter system worked, receiving Western press chilling title "Dead Hand" final argument Soviet (and now Russian) state. Despite the large number and variety of “machines” invented by science fiction writers doomsday"(Doomsday Machines), guaranteeing retribution to any enemy and capable of reaching and guaranteed to destroy him, only "Perimeter" apparently really exists. However, “Perimeter” is a system kept in such strict secrecy that there are some doubts about its existence, and all information about its composition and functions should be taken with a great deal of doubt. So what do we know?
The Perimeter system launches an automatic massive nuclear strike. It guarantees the launch of submarine-, air- and silo-based ballistic missiles in the event that the enemy destroys ALL points capable of ordering a retaliatory attack. It is completely independent from other means of communication and command systems, even from the notorious “ nuclear briefcase» Kazbek system.
The system was put on combat duty in 1985, and five years later it was modernized, received the name “Perimeter-RC” and served for another 5 years. Then, as part of the START-1 agreement, she was removed from duty - and her current condition is unknown. According to some sources, it may be “turned on” again after START I expires, and according to others, it has already been returned to its current state.
This is how the system is believed to work. “Perimeter” is on constant combat duty and receives data from tracking systems, including early warning radars for missile attacks. Apparently, the system has its own independent command posts, which are in no way (outwardly) indistinguishable from many similar points of the Strategic Missile Forces. According to some reports, there are 4 such points, they are separated over a long distance and duplicate each other’s functions.
At these points, the most important - and most secret - component of the Perimeter, the autonomous control and command system, operates. It is believed that this is a complex software package created on the basis artificial intelligence. By receiving data on communications on the air, the radiation field and other radiation at control points, information from early detection systems for launches, seismic activity, it is able to draw conclusions about the fact of a massive nuclear attack.
If “the situation is ripe,” the system itself is transferred to a state of full combat readiness. Now she needs one last factor: the absence of regular signals from the usual command posts of the Strategic Missile Forces. If signals have not been received for some time, “Perimeter” triggers the Apocalypse. 15A11 command missiles are released from the silos. Based on intercontinental missiles MR UR-100 (launch weight 71 tons, flight range up to 11 thousand km, two stages, liquid-propellant jet engine), they carry a special warhead. In itself, it is harmless: it is a radio engineering system developed at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic. These missiles, rising high into the atmosphere and flying over the territory of the country, broadcast launch codes for all nuclear missile weapons.
They also act automatically. Imagine a submarine standing at the pier: almost the entire crew on the shore has already died, and only a few confused submariners on board. Suddenly she comes to life. Without any outside intervention, having received a launch signal from strictly secret receiving devices, the nuclear arsenal begins to move. The same thing happens in immobilized mine installations, and on strategic aviation. A retaliatory strike is inevitable: it is probably unnecessary to add that the Perimeter is designed to be especially resistant to all damaging factors of nuclear weapons. It is almost impossible to reliably disable it.
Imagine a fully automated destruction system in on a global scale. Such as "Skynet" from the Terminator films or even the absurd "Doomsday Machine" that Doctor Strangelove boasted about. What is this: " Secret materials"Soviet style? Or is there a possibility that this system actually exists?
« The USSR developed a system that became known as the “Dead Hand”. What did this mean? If a nuclear attack was carried out on a country, and the Commander-in-Chief could not make any decision, among the intercontinental missiles that were at the disposal of the USSR, there were those that could be launched via a radio signal from the system commanding the battle“says Doctor of Engineering Sciences Petr Belov.
Using complex system sensors that measured seismic activity, air pressure and radiation to determine whether the USSR had been struck by a nuclear attack, the Dead Hand provided the ability to launch nuclear arsenal without anyone pressing the red button. If contact with the Kremlin were lost and the computers detected an attack, the launch codes would be activated, giving the USSR the opportunity to retaliate after its destruction.
« A system that can be automatically activated upon the first enemy strike is actually necessary. Its very presence makes it clear to the enemies that even if ours are destroyed command centers and decision-making systems, we will have the ability to launch an automated retaliatory strike", said former boss Colonel General Leonid Ivashov of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
During Cold War The USA had its own “backup option”, code-named “Mirror”. Crews have been in the air continuously for three decades, with the mission to control the skies should control of the ground be lost due to a surprise attack. The main difference between the Dead Hand and the Mirror is that the Americans relied on people to warn them about the attack. After the Cold War, the United States abandoned this system, although it is still unclear whether a Soviet version exists. Those who know about this avoid talking about this topic. " I can't talk about this because I don't know about the current state of affairs", says Ivashov.
DOSSIER.
The Perimeter system with its Dead Hand component was put into service in 1983. This has not become a secret for the United States, and they are always with special attention monitored missile test launches. Therefore, when on November 13, 1984, the 15A11 command missile, created in Dnepropetrovsk, at the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, was tested, all American intelligence assets worked in a very intense mode. The command rocket was the intermediate option mentioned above. It was planned to be used in the event that communication between the command and missile units scattered throughout the country was completely interrupted. It was then that the order was supposed to be given from the General Staff in the Moscow region or from the reserve command post in Leningrad to launch 15A11. The missile was supposed to launch from the Kapustin Yar test site or from a mobile launcher, fly over those areas of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan where the missile units were stationed, and give them the command to take off.
On a November day in 1984, this is exactly what happened: the command rocket issued a command to prepare and launch from Baikonur the R-36M (15A14) - which later became the legendary “Satan”. Well, then everything happened as usual: “Satan” took off, rose into space, and a training warhead separated from it, which hit a training target at the Kura training ground in Kamchatka. (Detailed specifications command rocket, if this question interests anyone especially, you can find out from the books that are in last years are published in abundance in Russian and English.)
However, then, twenty years ago, the Americans did not know everything about the Strategic Missile Forces control system. Details about “Perimeter” and “Dead Hand” became known to them only in the early 1990s, when some of the developers of this system moved to the West. On October 8, 1993, the New York Times published an article by its columnist Bruce Blair, “The Russian Doomsday Machine,” in which information about the control system of the Soviet (then Russian) missile forces appeared for the first time in the open press. For the first time, its name was also announced - “Perimeter”, once top-secret, but now known to everyone who needs it and who doesn’t need it. Then in English language The concept of dead hand was also included - “dead hand” in relation to rocketry.
Based on materials from open sources
A loud and possibly controversial statement was made by the ex-chief of the General Staff Missile Forces strategic purpose(1994-1996) Colonel General Viktor Esin in an interview with the Zvezda newspaper. He believes that the Russian system automatic retaliatory nuclear strike “Perimeter” may be useless in the event of a military conflict. Let's analyze the situation. What's wrong?
According to Esin, after the United States withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), the Russian Perimeter system may lose its effectiveness. He stated that the system is functioning and is constantly being modernized.
“But when it works, we will have few funds left - we will be able to launch only those missiles that will survive the first strike of the aggressor,” says Yesin.
The US can achieve this if it deploys ballistic missiles in Europe medium range that violate the INF Treaty. With the help of such missiles, they will be able to destroy the bulk of Russian missile systems in the European part, and intercept the rest along the flight path using missile defense, he noted. Esin emphasized that in such conditions Russia will have to reconsider its military doctrine, accelerate production. He believes that this can be done in a short time using a three-stage rocket.
“But frankly... If the United States begins to deploy its missiles in Europe, we will have no choice but to abandon the retaliatory strike doctrine and move on to the preemptive strike doctrine,” Yesin said.
At the same time, he believes that Russia should focus on development hypersonic weapons, to which there are no answers yet in the West. “But the main thing, as it seems to me, will be necessary - to instantly respond to the enemy. The more formidable the weapons you have, the less likely there is to be a military conflict,” concluded Yesin.
System "Perimeter", index RVSN RVSN – 15E601, V Western Europe and the USA is known as English. Dead Hand, literally "Dead Hand"- a complex for automatic control of a massive retaliatory nuclear strike, created in the USSR.
One of the world's leading experts on nuclear weapons, Bruce Blair, said in an interview with the publication that these weapons are modern Russia is on combat duty and is being modernized. Bruce Blair believes that Perimeter, despite its "terrifying concept", helps reduce the risk of nuclear war.
“The existence of the Hand of Death means that the West will always have to think twice before succumbing to the temptation to launch a nuclear strike,” Blair said.
The “Perimeter” system is designed to ensure the delivery of combat orders from the highest echelons of command (General Staff Armed Forces, Strategic Missile Forces Control) to command posts and individual launchers strategic missiles on combat duty in case of emergency when communication lines may be damaged.
The operating principle of the system is full automation. In the event of a massive attack, “Perimeter” is capable of making a decision on a retaliatory strike. This concept is a guarantee that a potential enemy will refuse to launch a preemptive strike.
Main developers of the system: Experienced design department at LPI named after Kalinin (OKB "Impulse", V. I. Melnik), NPO AP (N. A. Pilyugin), KBSM (A. F. Utkin), TsKBEM (B. R. Aksyutin), MNIIRS (A. P . Bilenko), VNIIS (B. Ya. Osipov), Central Design Bureau "Geophysics" (G. F. Ignatiev), NII-4 MO (E. B. Volkov).
The first stage of the program implementation guaranteed retribution dates back to the mid-1970s.
The main idea became the use of a special command missile, equipped with a powerful radio transmitter, giving commands to launch all missiles on combat duty on the territory of the USSR. The work on the command system was headed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (USSR government decree of August 30, 1974). It was in the design bureau that the name “Perimeter” arose.
To ensure that it fulfills its role, the system was initially designed to be fully automatic. In the event of a massive attack, she is able to decide on an adequate retaliatory strike independently, without the participation (or with minimal participation) of a person.
Various missiles were considered as basic ones. The MR UR-100UTTH missile (index 15A16) was considered optimal. At the end of 1975, a preliminary design was completed. After processing for the Perimeter system, the missile received the index 15A11. Instead of a warhead, a warhead was installed on it (index 15B99), which included a radio engineering system developed by OKB LPI. The production of the warhead was organized at NPO Strela in Orenburg.
In 1979, flight design tests of the command missile began under the leadership of the State Commission headed by Lieutenant General V.V. Korobushin, First Deputy Chief of the Main Staff of the Strategic Missile Forces. A total of 10 missiles were manufactured for flight testing. Tests were carried out at NIIP-5 (Baikonur) from 1979 to 1986.
The first launch of the Perimeter system rocket was successfully carried out on December 26, 1979
Due to the successful progress of the tests, the State Commission considered it possible to be satisfied with seven launches instead of the planned ten. Simultaneously with missile testing at the test site of the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology, in the laboratories of VNIIEF (Arzamas-16), as well as at the nuclear test site New Earth ground tests of the performance of the entire complex were carried out under exposure conditions damaging factors nuclear explosion.
The tests carried out confirmed the operability of the equipment at levels of exposure to a nuclear explosion. During the tests, the functions of the complex were expanded. “Perimeter” in its improved version communicated combat orders not only to Strategic Missile Forces facilities, but also to SSBNs, long-range and naval missile-carrying aircraft at airfields and in the air, and control centers of the Strategic Missile Forces, Air Force and Navy.
The key element of Perimeter is a complex expert system equipped with many sensors that monitor the combat situation. It monitors the presence and intensity of negotiations on air on military frequencies, and the receipt of telemetry signals from Strategic Missile Forces posts.
Sensors record the level of radiation on the surface and in the surrounding area, the regular occurrence of point sources of powerful ionizing and electromagnetic radiation along key coordinates, coinciding with the sources of short-term seismic disturbances in earth's crust(which corresponds to the picture of multiple ground-based nuclear strikes). The presence of living people at the checkpoint is also registered. Based on an analysis of the entire complex of factors, the system makes a final decision on a retaliatory nuclear strike.
Flight testing of the command missile was completed in March 1982. Since January 1985, the Perimeter complex has been put on combat duty
The Perimeter system, along with 15A11 missiles, also included command missiles based on the Pioneer MRBM. Such mobile complex with command missiles was called “Gorn” (complex index - 15P656, missiles - 15Zh56). Since 1990, a modernized command missile system, called “Perimeter-RC”, which includes a command missile created on the basis of the RT-2PM Topol ICBM.
"Perimeter" is an alternative command system for all branches of the military armed with nuclear charges. It was created as a reserve system in case the key nodes of the Kazbek command system and the communications lines of the Strategic Missile Forces are destroyed by the first strike in accordance with the one developed in the United States.
The existence of such a system is sometimes called immoral, but it is essentially the only deterrent that provides real guarantees that a potential enemy will renounce the concept of a crushing preventive strike.
According to Vladimir Yarynich, one of the developers of the system, the system also served as insurance against the country's top leadership making a hasty decision based on unverified information. Having received a signal from the missile attack warning system, the top officials of the state activate the Perimeter system. After this, you can be sure that even the destruction of everyone who can give commands for a retaliatory attack will not prevent a retaliatory strike. This completely excluded the possibility of making a decision on a retaliatory strike in the event of a false alarm.
During the tests, a system operation scheme was worked out, which looks like this.
After an order to a special command post, a 15P011 command missile with a special 15B99 warhead is launched. In flight, it transmits launch commands to all launchers and command posts Strategic Missile Forces, having appropriate receivers.
The system's command posts are similar to the missile bunkers of the Strategic Missile Forces. Their communication systems are integrated with launchers command missiles, however, to ensure better survivability, they are spaced over a considerable distance.
Since its adoption, the system has been predominantly in a dormant state. Is it currently activated? This is a state secret. But given that the threats from the United States and NATO countries are real, we can assume that the “Perimeter”, or “Dead Hand” system is maintained in a state of combat readiness and is periodically activated...
What happens after activating the Perimeter system?
She begins to monitor a network of sensors (seismic, radiation, atmospheric pressure etc.) for signs of nuclear explosions. Before giving the command to retaliate, Perimeter checks the presence of communication with General Staff. If there is communication, if there is no further sign of an attack, if officials capable of ordering a counterattack are still alive, the system automatically shuts down after a period of time.
If there is no connection and all signs are identified nuclear attack, “Perimeter” launches a command for a retaliatory nuclear strike, bypassing the usual numerous authorities.
After being placed on combat duty, the complex was periodically used during command post exercises. This continued until 1995, when, as part of the START-1 agreement, the complex was removed from combat duty. In December 2011, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Lieutenant General Sergei Karakaev, stated that the Perimeter system was operational and on combat duty.
Today, quite a lot is written about the “Perimeter”, or “Dead Hand” system on the Internet. The topic is actively discussed not only in Western, but also in Russian in social networks. The Russians noted the importance strategic weapons for Russia - if only nuclear weapon, including the Perimeter system, could not be preserved in the 1990s; the political situation in Russia could now be much worse.
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“Thank God that Yeltsin, having surrendered everything from resources to the Constitution, did not dispose of nuclear weapons,” writes social network user Inna. “In Russia’s place there would already be two dozen non-states like Ukraine instantly recognized by the West, fighting among themselves for the remains of scrap metal.”
Inna@innamyflower
If in Russia’s place there would already be two dozen non-states like Ukraine instantly recognized by the West, fighting among themselves for the remains of scrap metal.(c)
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Of course, the Russians drew attention to the concern that the guarantee of a retaliatory strike from Russia causes in the West even if the Russian Federation receives a fatal blow - why would the West be so worried if they were not considering the possibility of an attack on the Russian Federation, users ask.
“And as you wanted - you want peace, prepare for war,” Irina is sure. “That’s why they bark from afar, but are afraid to bite.”
InoTV ✔ @RT_InoTV
Daily Star: Russian “Dead Hand” will not leave the aggressor without retribution
Irina@Ivolga2015Irina
And, as you wanted, you want peace, prepare for war. That’s why they bark from afar, but are afraid to bite.
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“Why is the West so afraid? “Perimeter” will only work in the event of an attack on Russia... - writes Dmitry. - Why should they worry? Or is there anything to do with it?”
“The modernized concept of an automated nuclear strike with the Perimeter (Dead Hand) system was called immoral in the UK,” another user drew attention to the warnings of British expert Bruce Blair. “But for some reason the Shavers don’t consider a nuclear strike on Russia immoral.”
Operating principle of the system:
The logic of the Dead Hand's actions involved the regular collection and processing of a gigantic amount of information. A variety of information was received from all kinds of sensors. For example, about the state of communication lines with a higher command post: there is a connection - there is no connection. About the radiation situation in the surrounding area: normal radiation level - increased level radiation. About the presence of people at the starting position: there are people - there are no people. About registered nuclear explosions And so on and so forth.
The “Dead Hand” had the ability to analyze changes in the military and political situation in the world - the system assessed commands received over a certain period of time, and on this basis could conclude that something was wrong in the world. When the system believed that its time had come, it became active and launched a command to prepare for the launch of the rockets.
Moreover, the “Dead Hand” could not begin active operations in Peaceful time. Even if there was no communication, even if the entire combat crew left the starting position, there were still a lot of other parameters that would block the operation of the system.
After an order received from the highest echelons of the Strategic Missile Forces control to a special command post, the 15P011 command missile with a special 15B99 warhead is launched, which in flight transmits launch commands to all launchers and command posts of the Strategic Missile Forces that have the appropriate receivers.
System concept:
The system is designed to guarantee the launch of silo-based ICBMs and SLBMs in the event that, as a result of a crushing nuclear strike by the enemy on the territory of the USSR, all command units of the Strategic Missile Forces capable of ordering a retaliatory strike are destroyed. The system is the only doomsday machine (weapon of guaranteed retribution) in existence in the world, the existence of which has been officially confirmed. The system is still classified and may still be on combat duty to this day, so any information about it cannot be confirmed as unequivocally reliable, or refuted, and should be viewed with a due degree of skepticism.
At its core, the Perimeter system is an alternative command system for all branches of the military armed with nuclear warheads. It was created as a backup system in case the key nodes of the Kazbek command system and the communications lines of the Strategic Missile Forces were destroyed by the first strike, in accordance with the concept of Limited Nuclear War developed in the United States. To ensure the guaranteed fulfillment of its role, the system was initially designed as fully automatic and, in the event of a massive attack, is capable of making a decision on a retaliatory strike independently, without the participation (or with minimal participation) of a person. The existence of such a system in the West is called immoral, but it is essentially the only deterrent that provides real guarantees that a potential enemy will renounce the concept of a preventive crushing strike.
History of creation:
Development of a special command missile system, called "Perimeter", was assigned by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau by USSR Government Decree N695-227 of August 30, 1974. It was initially planned to use the MR-UR100 (15A15) missile as the base missile; later they settled on the MR-UR100 UTTH (15A16) missile. The missile, modified in terms of its control system, received the index 15A11.