The Soviets have a Doomsday Device

Post by **King of Creation** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:13 am

[ Community -> Article ]

Turns out the Russians have (or had) a <a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/ ... ">doomsday device</a> of sorts.
The point of the system, he explains, was to guarantee an automatic Soviet response to an American nuclear strike. Even if the US crippled the USSR with a surprise attack, the Soviets could still hit back. It wouldn't matter if the US blew up the Kremlin, took out the defense ministry, severed the communications network, and killed everyone with stars on their shoulders. Ground-based sensors would detect that a devastating blow had been struck and a counterattack would be launched.
What if Russia suffers from a horrific earthquake? Would the US get nuked as a result? Not to worry! Turns out it is not actually a completely automated death-system.
Even given an unthinkable series of accidents, he reminds me, there would still be at least one human hand to prevent Perimeter from ending the world. Prior to 1985, he says, the Soviets designed several automatic systems that could launch counterattacks without any human involvement whatsoever. But all these devices were rejected by the high command. Perimeter, he points out, was never a truly autonomous doomsday device. "If there are explosions and all communications are broken," he says, "then the people in this facility can—I would like to underline can—launch."
Read the whole article <a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/ ... re</a>.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:11 am

Interesting read - if not only because of the fact that the Soviets rejected the doomsday devices. Perhaps they saw Dr. Strangelove?

PiP · Post by **PiP** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:23 am

turns out vertibirds are real

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 12:23 pm

They've got them power armors too, ya heard? Ex-oh-skeli-tons dem be called.

Caleb · Post by **Caleb** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:53 pm

Damnit dutch, beat me to it by a few hours

Post by **Manoil** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:14 pm

Kashluk wrote:They've got them power armors too, ya heard? Ex-oh-skeli-tons dem be called.

That's actually the Japanese.

KTHXBAI

Flaser · Post by **Flaser** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 4:22 am

This one was made with good 'ol American know how:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhj3Z9o6t0g