Date

Mar 15, 1980

Description

Odom reported on the response to a false warning systems incident the night before, a hitherto undisclosed event. At 9:32 PM NORAD and the NMCC convened a conference call after a report came in about the detection of missile launches from a Kurile Island site where the “‘fan’ of one of the missile tracks included Alaska, Canada, and the tip of Oregon.” The conference call ended once warning system operators determined that “the impact of both missiles were determined to be in Kamchatka.” Odom reported that procedures worked properly: he was alerted promptly, NEACP “rolled out” at 9:32 PM, SAC readiness changed at 9:30 PM, and “The duty officers at NORAD and the NMCC sorted out the ‘anomalies’ in the computer displays quickly.”

As noted, the volume provides good coverage of the other NORAD false alarms of November 1979 and June 1980, including more complete versions of several documents from 1980.

Source

Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume IV, National Security Policy (FRUS Document 179)

Document published in following posting(s):

New State Department History Details Nuclear Targeting and Continuity of Government, 1977-1980

Apr 17, 2024

Memorandum From the Military Assistant to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Odom) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski), “Threat Assessment Conference Call on Missile Warning.” 15 March 1980, Secret