Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ucbvax.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxj!houxm!ihnp4!ucbvax!arms-d From: arms-d@ucbvax.ARPA Newsgroups: fa.arms-d Subject: Re: Arms-Discussion Digest V3 #1 Message-ID: <4007@ucbvax.ARPA> Date: Thu, 3-Jan-85 11:27:05 EST Article-I.D.: ucbvax.4007 Posted: Thu Jan 3 11:27:05 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 4-Jan-85 00:52:37 EST Sender: daemon@ucbvax.ARPA Organization: University of California at Berkeley Lines: 19 From: medin@ucbarpa (Milo Medin) From my knowledge of U.S. C^3 systems, I'd say it'd be very hard for some sort of accident to launch anything less than a squadron at a time, otherwise you have to override the 'default' configuration. For a long time, you *couldn't* launch less than a squadron at a time. For those who don't know, a squadron is composed of 50 missiles, 3 squadrons to a wing. But I don't really find the possibility of an accident leading to an actual launch and detontation very large at all, for that you'd need 2 votes and the EAM, and all that stuff is built to be failsafe anyways. I'd think that if we ever did decide to launch a strike, it'd be hard for everything to get all the right info, especially in a nuclear environment, to authorize and authenticate properly. Milo