Russia Dead Hand

[nelson]

How Dead Hand Works

The "Dead Hand" system, better known as Perimeter, is a Cold War-era nuclear weapons control and deterrence scheme of the Soviet Union. Basically, it is an automated system that would ensure that even after decapitating or a large first-strike nuclear attack against the country's leadership, particularly by the United States, Russia and previously the Soviet Union could retaliate with nuclear force. It was conceived especially secure and a second-strike capability, which would ensure that MAD happens even when the leadership and command structure get wiped out.

 

Concept and Purpose

The whole point of Dead Hand was to guarantee that, even if the Soviet Union were hit by a nuclear first strike-one powerful enough to destroy the leading parts of its leadership-it would be able to respond with its nuclear weapons in such a way as to ensure that any aggressor against it would suffer catastrophic damage.

It was designed to act like a doomsday device-automatic nuclear response, without any human input-considering it had detected signs of attack and drew a conclusion that the leadership communications had been cut.

 

How It Works

The details of the Dead Hand system are highly classified; much about its functions is still not known. The following description aims at giving a general account of how it works:

Nuclear Attack Detection: It aims to detect a full-scale nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, now Russia, through sensors for monitoring changes in the level of radiation or seismic activity and via intelligence from early-warning satellites and other ground-based systems.

Cut-off of Communications: Dead Hand would automatically determine whether, in the case of a nuclear strike, it can still connect with the leadership or if the command structure is wiped out. "If it detects that communications links with high command-or whoever may be in charge, from the President down the line of succession to the Defense Minister and others-are cut, it begins the third and final phase of the operation:.

Launch Decision: There is automated analysis of whether a counter-attack is justified. Concretely, the scale of the attack, the size of the infrastructure damage, and other inputs provide a go/no-go decision on the timing of retaliation. If it decides this is the appropriate time for retaliation, it could give the order to launch Russia's nuclear weapons.

Command Centers: The Dead Hand has been associated with such command-and-control centers so that its operation-when initiated-the nuclear military forces are turned on without necessarily having direct human interference.

Action Trigger: It is intended to transmit the launch codes automatically to the Russian nuclear forces in the case that it detects the command centers have been destroyed and no one is in a position to give orders to retaliate. Launching would be through intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarines, or other strategic systems.

 

Dead Hand System Components

Although it remains highly classified in its exact technical composition, most people believe that Dead Hand would comprise a host of various parts:

Early Warning Systems: satellite-based detectors reporting on the launch of missiles and ground-based radars detecting the pattern of an oncoming missile strike.

Seismic and Radiation Sensors: Seismic sensors work toward uncovering the explosions originating underground, and radiation sensors serve to trace signs of nuclear explosions in the atmosphere with the purpose to confirm a nuclear strike.

Mechanism of Autonomous Launch: the system may permit the launch commands to be relayed to the strategic nuclear forces of Russia-land and sea-based.

Redundancy Features: This would also involve its features of redundancy for resilience. With multi-level communications systems, it had duplicate channels so that in the event of a large-scale attack, it would still work. This becomes important so that if the system were activated, there would still be leeway for launching a counter-attack.

 

Launch and Activation

Although the true trigger mechanism of Dead Hand remains shrouded in secrecy from the public, various speculations have been made about how it would be designed to act automatically in situations where it infers a large-scale nuclear attack against Russia-where there is actually no effective communication from the government-it sends orders to launch nuclear missiles for the second-strike retaliation.

Some reports indicate that the system has a human "safety" override-in other words, even if the system detects a nuclear attack and could theoretically launch one in response on its own, final authorization would still involve sufficient human intervention to prevent an inadvertent launch.

 

Post-Soviet Period

Rumors persist that Russia is discussing the continuation of the Dead Hand system, first established by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, but this is also wrapped in a good deal of speculation as to what exactly its current status is. It was variously rumored to be either de-activated in the 1990s or considerably reduced in operation, but over recent years some indications have emerged that elements of the system may have been retained operational by Russia, or perhaps a new version has been developed.

 

Secrecy and Uncertainty

With much of the Dead Hand system still highly classified, many questions remain about its present status and full capability. It is not known today whether or not the system is fully operational or if it has been substantially changed or replaced by more modern technologies.

It is also sometimes referred to as a "doomsday machine" because, were it ever activated, it would be constructed to inflict massive devastation without any human hand on the switch, although there is little concrete evidence that this system has, in fact, been activated or put into full use.

 

Ethical and Strategic Concerns

From its very conception come major ethical and strategic questions:

Autonomous weaponry: Besides the gravity of a decision like that on a nuclear strike by an unmanned machine not interfered with by a human, that does raise serious concern about artificial intelligence at war and how such a misunderstanding can take place.

Mutual Assured Destruction: Dead Hand perfectly epitomizes mutual assured destruction, wherein both parties engaged in a nuclear war would definitely face disaster and thus, theoretically be barred from the war on nuclear levels. However, this concept has gained extreme criticism for basing its premise on the threat of a disastrous outcome.

Vulnerability: With the system dependent on sensors, communication systems, and processes for decision-making while in automated mode, it does open scenarios of its being hacked or malfunctioning, hence raising very valid questions as to just how reliable such a deterrent would be.

 

Conclusion

The Dead Hand is part of the very core of Russian nuclear deterrence with the guarantee of a retaliatory strike in case the leadership and infrastructures in that country are taken out during a first strike. Because most of the technical and operational details are still classified, it was an iconic development behind the nuclear deterrence concept, which planned on retaining the threat of overwhelming retaliation in case of a nuclear attack. It is not known if it works the same today as it did then, but the system remains one of many reminders about how great a capability for destruction with nuclear weapons still exists in today's geopolitics.

 

Edited 14 hours ago by nelson