A typical DEFCON counter found at Sugar Grove or The Whitespring bunker.
Defense readiness condition or DEFCON was the pre-War alert rating used by the United States Armed Forces to determine the readiness level of the American military, in response to deteriorating strategic conditions.[1]
Ratings[]
The following ratings or readiness levels have been used by the pre-War military. After centuries without maintenance, at least some DEFCON archives remain unavailable due to data corruption.[2]
| Rating | Color code | Description | Occurences |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Blue | Normal defense readiness, likely observed in peacetime. | |
| 4 | Green | Elevated readiness. Likely the standard rating during the Sino-American War.[3] | |
| 3 | Orange | Increased readiness. | Reached on January 28, 2077, 16:32R, after the liberation of Anchorage.[3] |
| 2 | Red | Nuclear war likely, next step to nuclear war. | Reached on October 23, 2077, 09:13R, after IONDS reported possible nuclear launches from China.[3] |
| 1 | White | Highest level of readiness, nuclear war imminent or in progress. All nuclear safeguards disengaged, launches permitted.[4] | Reached on October 23, 2077, 09:17R. Air Force nuclear bombers were deployed and response scenario MX-CN91 authorized, leading to the Great War.[3][5] Release of scorchbeasts by Thomas Eckhart on Appalachia and the Scorched Plague[1] |
Appalachia automated system[]
The Appalachian Automated Launch System used a pilot program intended to automate nuclear response. While regular nuclear forces stationed at eg. Fort Constantine or Hopeville Missile Base would be provided with launch codes once DEFCON 1 was reached, allowing them to launch missiles manually (some launch codes were simply eight zeroes, in fact, allowing instant launch with the USAF One-Touch Command SysOps)[6][7] Appalachia was monitored by a sophisticated autonomous system that would determine the DEFCON level on its own,[8] determining whether the situation was bad enough to raise the rating and eventually permit missiles to be launched. The AALS was designed to prevent malicious or accidental launches by requiring DEFCON 1 to be reached before launch operations could commence.[9][10] Other silo systems were also tied to the DEFCON rating, such as reactor restarts, to maximize readiness.[11]
Once the system determined that the situation warranted elevating the alarm rating to DEFCON 1, it would enable the launches and activate autonomous systems of the Strategic Air Command to deploy automated convoys to deliver nuclear keycards, so that generals present in Appalachia could deliver the necessary final launch authorization.[12][13]
While it was a sound system in theory, the system was entirely independent of military networks, and even if DEFCON 1 was reached previously, it could lower it depending on circumstances. After the Great War, it deemed that the situation in Appalachia was stable and reduced it accordingly, which obstructed plans by Thomas Eckhart and his Enclave to continue launching nuclear weapons against China. While his underlings managed to figure out how to manipulate the automated promotion system to grant general rank (eg. to Ellen Santiago), they could not manipulate the DEFCON system in the same way and had to resort to tricking it.[13]
Despite misgivings by Santiago and her men, Eckhart ordered the release of progressively worse horrors upon Appalachia to "simulate" a Chinese invasion, including Operation Trinitite Liberators and super mutants spawned from West Tek research near Huntersville. The system refused to raise DEFCON to stage 1, leading Eckhart to escalation. When Santiago confronted the self-made President, he had her sedated.[14] Without her interference, he ordered the release of scorchbeasts, inadvertently unleashing the Scorched Plague upon innocent American civilians in the region. This finally led to a rebellion among the troops, a brief civil conflict between Eckhart's and Santiago's factions, and ultimately the extinguishing of the Enclave at the Whitespring.[15]
DEFCON 1 remained in effect across Appalachia, as scorchbeasts wiped out human life. By 2102, the only humans remaining were Vault 76 dwellers, safely sheltered within the bunker. Ultimately, they'd leverage the system to use nuclear weapons against the scorchbeasts once a Plague vaccine was completed, allowing humans to return to the region in 2103. However, the rating remained at maximum, with SAC convoys continuing to deliver keycards and missile silos manufacturing missiles endlessly, allowing the indiscriminate use of nuclear weapons in the region.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 MODUS: "This DEFCON rating the general speaks of has been pegged at its maximum for some time now, due to the hazardousness unleashed by our earlier guests."
(MODUS' dialogue) - ↑ The Switchboard terminal entries; central terminal, DEFCON Archive
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Switchboard terminal entries; central terminal, DEFCON Status - 2077
- ↑ Assaultron: "Current DEFCON level - one. All nuclear safeguard disengaged."
(Dialogue for Assaultrons in the Whitespring bunker) - ↑ The Whitespring bunker terminal entries; archival terminal
- ↑ Fort Constantine launch codes
- ↑ Silo network security codes
- ↑ Fujiniya Intelligence Base terminal entries; security terminal, 0.0.2.8
- ↑ Missile silo terminal entries; launch control terminal, Initiate Launch Prep
- ↑ Missile silo terminal entries: Launch Control Terminal, Launch Prerequisites
- ↑ Missile silo terminal entries; reactor control terminal, Power System Overview
- ↑ Nuclear poster narration: "During your briefing, you should've been issued a Nuclear Keycard. You may speak to your logistics officer as to the location of the pick-up for your additional cards, should the circumstances arise. Additional card drops will be brought in by automated convoy should the DEFCON rating continue to worsen. During an actual launch, you will need to insert the card into the designated slot before entering your launch code, at which point the keycard will be consumed."
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Whitespring bunker terminal entries; archival terminal, Tricking DEFCON
- ↑ Whitespring surveillance recording 6.9.7
- ↑ |Whitespring surveillance recording 8.5.2