Russia is upgrading its nuclear final defence system which automatically launches it entire arsenal in a doomsday-like barrage, one of the US leading authorities on nuclear disarmament Bruce Blair said.
Russia’s defence chiefs are working to improve the so-called “Dead Hand” weapons system – also known as Perimeter. It has been referred to as a "Doomsday device" by analysts and was first developed during the paranoia of the Cold War.
Blair, who is the former US Air Force nuclear launch officer, said he believes the system is still operational and is even being "upgraded," Daily Star Online reported.
Dead Hand is described as a "fully automatic" system which is turned on amid times of crisis by Russia. It is operated by three crew members whose sole job is just to make sure the system is operational with “no judgement” involvement.
Despite the terrifying concept, Dr Blair, co-founder of disarmament campaign group Global Zero, said the existence of such a weapon actually helps reduce the risk of nuclear war.
However, he questioned the system’s "vulnerability to cyber attack" as a cause for concern to global security. Dead Hand’s operation means the West will always have to think twice if there is a temptation for a nuclear strike.
"[Dead Hand] is fully automatic except that it has to be turned on by the general staff during a crisis, and there is a small crew that would perform a small number of functions before it would operate," Blair said. "It is not a risk unless it could hacked and trigger an unauthorised launch," he added
