What Would Happen if This Event of 41 Years Ago Happened Today?

On the night of September 25-26, 1983, the siren blared at 0:15 local time at the Soviet missile defense center near Moscow. The early warning system reported the launch of a US intercontinental ballistic missile.

The officer on duty, Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov, only had a few minutes to assess the situation. In line with the logic of deterrence in force at the time – “Whoever shoots first, dies second!” – the Soviet leadership had less than half an hour to unleash a devastating counterattack.

Pe...