Part 2/5:
Near Misses and Dangerous Anomalies
Historically, several incidents suggest that nuclear war was narrowly averted due to luck and misidentification. The Soviet Union, during the tense years of the Cold War, came extraordinarily close to initiating a retaliatory nuclear strike in two notable instances.
The 1983 Phantom Radar Incident
In 1983, a false alarm involving a radar image nearly triggered a nuclear response from the Soviets. Misinterpreted data suggested an imminent attack, prompting fears of an all-out retaliatory strike. The details point to how technological glitches or misreads could have started a nuclear war, underscoring the risks embedded within Cold War military systems.