Assessment of the survivability of communication systems for silo-based missiles

Results of a graph-theoretic analysis of the survivability of land lines that form the communication links between missiles deployed in hardened silos and the launch control centers which fire them are reported. The analysis indicates that critically needed communication links have a high probability of being destroyed due to collateral damage resulting from an attack on missile silos using modern nuclear missiles. Missile basing modes that rely on hardened silos must also include plans for hardened communication links if the communication system is to survive a fast-strike attack by Soviet strategic forces of the next decade.<>