MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd November, 2018) Russia's Dead Hand automatic nuclear weapons control system, called Perimeter in Russian, remains effective, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Friday.
"In any case, the system is effective. The Russian nuclear control system is extremely reliable and effective," Ryabkov told reporters when responding to a question on the system's effectiveness.
According to Ryabkov, the algorithm of this system's implementation is a nonnegotiable issue and cannot be disclosed even at senior levels. He also noted that those responsible for the system's operation took into account the changing circumstances and duly adjusted its aspects of functioning.
Earlier in November, Col. Gen. Viktor Yesin, who was the commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Troops (RVSN) in 1994-1996, said in an interview to Zvezda media group that the Perimeter system might be ineffective in case of armed conflict. According to him, Russia will have to abandon a retaliatory strike doctrine in favor of a preemptive strike concept if the United States starts deploying missiles in Europe.
Dead Hand is a Cold War-era Russian computer system that can autonomously launch all of the country's nuclear weapons once activated. It was created to deter the possibility of a US nuclear strike. The system took up combat duty in January 1985.
