What Happens if Somebody Sets off a Nuke?

Ghery said:
EMP is only a problem if the device is detonated at high altitudes. A ground burst (dirtiest kind) or a low air burst isn't going to create EMP and its associated problems.
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Yes, they will, but only locally line-of-site, and even limited shielding, at a distance, can be effective.
 
This is a VERY abbreviated and simplified explanation of how things work.
In the bad old days (Think "War Games" era), in the event of an accidental nuke, a percentage of silos would launch automatically to insure that if we didn't win, no one else won.
Then cooler heads prevailed and we disabled most of the "auto-launch" functions. Not all. We had that infamous event where a launch crew got a real launch order, and refused to turn the keys. Which was good, because the test computer that issued the command randomly and accidentally actually transmitted a real launch code by mistake.
Now, in more enlightened times, we have an almost foolproof system of checks and balances to prevent world wide conflagration in the event of an accidental nuclear detonation.
The only problem is, that under a couple of former Presidents, maintenance of the nuclear arsenal was so sorely neglected, that should the order come to launch, most of the nukes will detonate inside the silos.

And that's what happens if the Tactical nuke in the self storage unit should accidentally go off.
 
Shepherd said:
The only problem is, that under a couple of former Presidents, maintenance of the nuclear arsenal was so sorely neglected, that should the order come to launch, most of the nukes will detonate inside the silos.
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No, they won't.

But they might not launch.

And if they do, they might miss their target.

But if they miss, they won't detonate.

And even if they hit, they might not detonate.

Some electronic devices degrade and fail following long exposure to radiation, such as prolonged storage in proximity to a warhead. Our arsenal is aging out.
 
I'm just glad POTUS has such a yuge button. The biggest button of all time and all that.
 
So, I’ve heard a few anecdotal reports about crews who refuse to launch even when the order seems valid.

How do we know if they’ll actually launch if a _real_ order does come? If the prez wakes up one day and wants to nuke Pyongyang, would the missile actually get launched?

Do crews keep tabs on world events? Example, if they knew there was a conventional war going on, or if a US city got nuked, will that affect their decision making (Ie “ok, this must be real because we’re retaliating for x) ? In theory, it “shouldn’t” affect their decision making but this is the real world here.

Do they watch cable news down in the bunkers to help them determine if an order is “legit” or not?

While we’re all glad that they didn’t launch for the erroneous order, from a military discipline standpoint, ignoring an order probably isn’t good.
 
A friend of mine was an atomic demolitions technician in the Army in the early 70s. He hated every minute of it and never looked back on his time fondly. A couple of years ago there was a reunion and I had to talk him into going. When he got back he recounted some funny stories he'd long since forgotten, but said someone there made a comment that he'd never thought about. Their job was to manually activate the weapons, but being on foot if they'd ever been called to action it would have been a 1-way mission. Apparently that didn't occur to many of the guys at the time.
 
dans2992 said:
So, I’ve heard a few anecdotal reports about crews who refuse to launch even when the order seems valid.
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A few of those guys are now retired from the military and are my colleagues. I have zero doubt that military personnel will follow orders if the time ever comes.
 
I grew up a couple of houses down from Kermit Beahan...he participated in both Atomic Drops on japan and the bombardier on Bockscar...spent a lot of time around him as a kid...we always knew of his participation but the subject was off limits...admitted once it was one hell of a ride. He had the looks of a movie actor and his kids were my age....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Beahan
 
Shepherd said:
This is a VERY abbreviated and simplified explanation of how things work.
In the bad old days (Think "War Games" era), in the event of an accidental nuke, a percentage of silos would launch automatically to insure that if we didn't win, no one else won.
Then cooler heads prevailed and we disabled most of the "auto-launch" functions. Not all. We had that infamous event where a launch crew got a real launch order, and refused to turn the keys. Which was good, because the test computer that issued the command randomly and accidentally actually transmitted a real launch code by mistake.
Now, in more enlightened times, we have an almost foolproof system of checks and balances to prevent world wide conflagration in the event of an accidental nuclear detonation.
The only problem is, that under a couple of former Presidents, maintenance of the nuclear arsenal was so sorely neglected, that should the order come to launch, most of the nukes will detonate inside the silos.

And that's what happens if the Tactical nuke in the self storage unit should accidentally go off.
Click to expand...
I watched a documentary on the same topic a few years back and I wasn't surprised then, still not. RIP the US if we actually need to use those silos some day.
 
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the Russian doomsday device. It was documented 40some years ago...
 
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