c) Exercise Able Archer

Exercise Able Archer was the codename for a NATO military exercise in 1983 that escalated Cold War tensions. This command post exercise simulated a period of conflict escalation, culminating in a coordinated nuclear attack. The realistic nature of the exercise caused alarm in the Soviet Union, which misinterpreted it as a potential cover for a real attack, bringing the superpowers dangerously close to a nuclear confrontation.