150 characters (about half the length
of a tweet) gets transmitted through
the Nuclear Command and Control
System. This message specifies the
prescribed plan of action as well as
its timing and also supplies the codes
to unlock and launch the missiles and
warheads. Procedures are in place
to ensure the message will reach all
forces, even under the most extreme
of circumstances.
At the end of the chain of command
the order to launch is authenticated
by at least two people using codes
that are stored in a safe. An ICBM
launch requires four people to turn
keys simultaneously. The launch of
submarine-launched ballistic missiles
(SLBM) also requires participation of
four people: the submarine’s captain,
navigation officer, missile officer, and
launch-control officer.The president’s order to attack
has to be verified by the secretary
of defense, but the secretary has no
veto power and must comply with the
orde r. Should he or she refuse to take
action, the president is able to issue
the order to a more compliant person.
And once the missiles are launched,
there is no going back. The power of
a Trident II SLBM’s engines propels
the missile to 20 times the speed of
sound in less than two minutes.
While the 45-pound briefcase never
leaves the president’s side, the codes
got lost for several months during the
Clinton administration. The incident
was revealed years later when former
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Henry H. Shelton mentioned it in his
autobiography. Had the codes fallen
into the wrong hands, the world might
be a very different place today...Nuclear weapons travel to their targets
aboard either a bomber or a missile.
Airports and missile silos are immovable
targets and thus vulnerable to an attack.
Therefore the majority of America’s nuclear
arsenal is carried aboard nuclear-powered
submarines on the world’s seas. The U.S.
Navy has 14 ballistic missile submarines
(SSBN) and four cruise missile submarines
(SSGN), all of the Ohio class—the world’s
third-largest submarine. Extremely quiet,
they are very hard for an enemy to detect.
Each Ohio carries 24 Trident II missiles,
each with multiple individually targeted
warheads. Together they could destroy
thousands of targets, but maintenance
schedules and arms-reduction treaties
considerably reduce that potential.
1 VESSEL,
100s OF WARHEADSLAUNCHED
UNDERWATER
ROCKETS THAT ARE
U.S. Navy submarines fire their
Trident II missiles from a depth of
around 165 feet. A small motor
propels the missile from the sub.
Then a series of three different
propulsion systems take over,
each one being jettisoned before
the next one ignites. The third-
stage motor is ejected as the
missile reaches its target area.PHOTOS:^ Wally^ McNamee/Co
ntri
butor/Getty;^Get
ty^ Images;^ Histo
rical/Contri
butor/Getty.in our history. That put 3,000 nuclear
weapons on alert, readying the total
power of 7,000 megatons—roughly
450,000 times the energy of the atomic
bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima.
Coming that close to the very brink
of nuclear war led to a rethinking of
weapons control and the invention of
the nuclear football. But even today,
if the American president decides to
use nuclear weapons, the first launch
could come just minutes later...
HOW MANY LETTERS DOES IT
TAKE TO SPELL APOCALYPSE?
Once the president has successfully
identified himself (or herself), there is
a brief authentication by the Pentagon
before an encrypted message of some
ideasanddiscoveries.com 33 May 2020