The Soviets began setting up an automated system called Perimeter, a network of sensors and computers that could automatically order a retaliatory nuclear strike against the United States with ICBMs. It was completed in 1985 and dubbed “Dead Hand.” The USSR, with its highly hierarchical and vertical structure, was well-suited to managing secrecy and dealing with the command and control of nuclear weapons, but for the same reasons, it was highly susceptible to a decapitating attack. By striking certain nerve centers, the Americans could decapitate the hierarchical structure, which would be unable to give the order for a counterattack. This was the rationale for Perimeter. It would give the Soviets more time to assess, on a case-by-case basis, whether an American attack was truly underway or a delusion. But on the other hand, it made American “limited” nuclear warfare tactics very dangerous: Perimeter could still launch an all-out response.
