Nuclear Weapon Accidents
Accidents happen. The least accident-prone nuclear weapons are the
ones that are not in motion – but not always: see Eric Schlosser’s
account of the Damascus incident in Command and Control.
Nuclear weapons in transit are more accident prone. The dangers
associated with transit multiply with the number of vehicles carrying
weapons in transit, which can spike during a crisis. The most
accident-prone nuclear weapons are those in motion when hostilities
commence, when standard operating procedures are subject to change. In
this event, the most accident-prone nuclear weapons are those moved
close to the forward edge of battle.
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