This Is How The U.S. Air Force Will Keep Communications Running If A Nuclear War Breaks Out

The US government already has four AEHF satellites in geostationary orbit and the USAF wants two more to be launched - representational image Boeing

IBTimes: US Air Force plans doomsday satellites to ensure communications remain if nuclear war breaks out

The AEHF will keep communications open and avoid signal jamming in case of nuclear war.

The US Air Force (USAF) plans to have satellites that will continue to provide communications for the top brass of the US government in the event of nuclear war or such incidents that can knock out communications.

Called Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites, they are designed specifically to keep military channels in working order. The satellites cannot also be easily hacked or electronically jammed, reports Popular Mechanics. "We need systems that work on the worst day in the history of the world," said Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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WNU Editor: Four of these satellites are in orbit right now .... two more are planned.

Russia's 'Doomsday Machine' Still Ready For Action?

From ABC News:

Soviet Program, 'Perimeter,' Ensured Nuclear Response in Event of U.S. Nuclear Strike.

It's supposed to be the stuff of science fiction: A device that triggers a nuclear holocaust in the event of a U.S. strike against Russia.

But the "Dr. Strangelove"-esque technology isn't just fantasy. The Cold War-era Soviet "doomsday machine" was -- and might still be -- very much a reality.

From interviews with former Soviet arms officials and Defense Department documents, Nicholas Thompson, a senior editor for Wired magazine and author of "The Hawk and The Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War," learned that the system was built 25 years ago to ensure a nuclear retaliation if Russia were attacked by the U.S.

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My Comment: I completely agree with former CIA director James Woolsey assessment about the USSR's doomsday device ..... "I hope to God the Soviets were more sensible than that."

But anyone who has had experience with Soviet bureaucracy knows the answer to James Woolsey's comment .... the Soviets were never sensible with their "big" and "secret" programs.

Get Nervous: Rusty Soviet Doomsday System Still Turned On

From Gizmodo:

Wired Magazine has a fascinating article on the doomsday system that was built by the Soviets 25 years ago. It was designed to obliterate the US no matter what happened to the USSR—and it still works today. Shiver.

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.

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Related Article: Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine -- Wired News

My Comment: One thing that I am always trying to do in this blog is to find additional articles/opinions that relate to the main story. But for this story .... I have found nothing. Kudos to the Danger Room/Wired for getting some basic information that gives us a general outline of this "Doomsday Machine" story.

The Movies -- The Best Fictional Doomsday Devices

The Death Star (Star Wars)

From Wired News:

America's love affair with the doomsday device is a turbulent one. First popularized in comic books and James Bond movies, then lampooned by Austin Powers, we love them because their ridiculousness makes us feel safe — like the exhilarating false danger of a roller coaster.

Now heightened audience cynicism has forced world-ending devices into the realm of camp, and except for a new breed of superhero movies, they've largely been replaced by natural disasters or apocalyptic sci-fi scenarios in Hollywood films.

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