Improving Communications Links between Moscow and Washington

The Direct Communications Link (DCL) between Moscow and Washington, established in 1963 and commonly known as the `hot-line', is supposed to provide a continuous communications link between US and Soviet National Command Authorities in both crises and war. This article describes the principal rationales for the DCL (crisis management, escalation control and war termination) and the facilities and systems which presently constitute the link. It argues that the present system has significant deficiencies in terms of survivability and endurance which make it unable to satisfy the requirements for escalation control and war termination, and it outlines possible measures for rectifying these deficiencies. These include a dedicated geostationary satellite communications system, with two satellites, both fixed and mobile satellite ground control stations, and optical fibre cable links for the ground connections, and with an adaptive high frequency (HF) radio circuit as a backup. The recent political developments in the Soviet Union and in the US-Soviet strategic relationship have dramatically reduced the likelihood of strategic confrontation. However, this is not a reason for inaction. Both the US and the Soviet Union intend to retain thousands of nuclear weapons, at least in the foreseeable future, and crises and confrontations between them cannot be ruled out altogether. Rather, these changed political circumstances provide an opportunity for cooperative efforts to dramatically improve the communications links between Moscow and Washington.