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Great interview. Can you explain how the decapitation strike on DC works? Your explanation is the if the President and VP are in DC, that both their nuclear footballs and the backup would be destroyed. I assume the President and the VP have their football always in their vicinity. Where is the third one? If all three are destroyed, would the surviving successor have any means by which to launch a retaliatory strike?

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The third one is always located at the White House. Unless US NORTHCOM/STRATCOM is at DEFCON 3 alert status or above, Russia could take out both the President and VP and then yes their successor wouldn't have a way to authorize a retaliatory strike. That is why, I have been calling for the US to abolish DEFCON 4 and DEFCON 5 and remain at DEFCON 3 permamently.

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What happens at DEFCON 3 that changes the situation? Is the backup football moved or the President and VP have to be separated?

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DEFCON 3 requires that the President and VP be at separate locations at all times ideally with one at an undisclosed location to avert a nuclear decapitation strike that could kill both simultaneously. Biden has never raised the alert status that high since he became President.

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The "footballs" aren't Faraday shielded?

280 mile altitude, eh? Have you a convenient reference for magnitude of EMP effects wrt yield and altitude? I thought I had seen allegations nuclear warheads could be optimized for EMP effects. But yes, orbital nuclear explosions have antisatellite effects. See Starfish Prime.

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Super EMP satellites could b used either to destroy US critical infrastructure and to take out satellites in their line of sight so the story is half right.

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I doubt they can select.

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