In Episode 69 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, Brink of Nuclear War: Able Archers and Lessons for Today, host John “Slick” Baum is joined by former career Air Force intelligence officer and aerospace industry executive Brian Morra to discuss his new book The Able Archers and how the lessons he learned from his first-hand experience during Able Archer applies to Russia today. In 1983, following the NATO Able Archer military exercise and the Soviet shootdown of Korean Airlines flight 007, the US and Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear war. The events were highly classified at the time, so little was known of the exact details. But, now, Brian has taken his first-hand experience as an intelligence officer in Japan along with newly declassified material, to tell us the story of The Able Archers and how the US and USSR avoided nuclear war. This story is incredibly relevant to today as the US and NATO faces the threat of nuclear escalation by Russia in the Russia-Ukraine war.
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Guest
Brian J. MorraAuthor; Board Member at CAE, USA; and Senior Advisor to the Bain CompanyHost
John BaumSenior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace StudiesRelated Reading
Credits
Producer
Daniel C. Rice
Executive Producer
Douglas Birkey