sep 26, 1983 - 41. Soviet nuclear false alarm

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September 26th, 1983

On September 26th, 1983, a Soviet nuclear watch facility received a warning that the United States had launches 4 nuclear ICBMs at the Soviet Union. Finding that it was unlikely that the United States would only launch four nuclear warheads, the official reported it as a false alarm. He was correct as the Soviet system meant to be tracking nuclear warheads had picked up light reflecting off some clouds. This event is significant because a nuclear war almost happened because of a technical glitch with Soviet equipment.

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