RUSSIANS MAKE MISSILE ADVANCES, UNVEIL NEW GENERATION OF ARMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000100090041-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 5, 1999
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: May 23, 1965
• Content Type: NSPR

FOIAb3b
Sanitized - Approved Fpr. Release :
or,L ~ ~lIrr~ CFPYRGHT
M. 2.16,367
a 356,753
MAY 2 3 1965
Russian s Make Missile, Advances,
Generation Of Arms
',,Unveil New
By WILL IAM E. HOWARD
Washingldn Bureau, The Oregonian
WAS14INGTON Russia
appears to be well on the
ray to erasing whatever
cad, the United States holds
in long-range missiles.
. hi' the past few months,
and more recently on May
; they'haveunveiled an en-
ire new "generation" of
our solid-fueled ICBMs that
compare with this country's
Minuteman and submarine -
launched Polaris missiles.
Moreover, they have come
up with a new solid - fueled
iobile medium-range
(about 1,200, miles) missile
something the U.S.? can't
etch. This weapon, nick-
named the "Iron Maiden,"
is' a considerable advance
over the cumbersome liquid
fueled Sandal missiles that
were deployed in Cuba.
Unit Mobile
The "Iron Maiden"'is car-
ried on a tracked transport-
er that also acts as a
launcher. It is entirely mo-
bile. 'The Sandals needed
large bases, on. the other
hand, and it. was through
the: scraping of dirt for
launch sites that the Soviet-
Cuba operation was spotted
in time to halt it.
No such `telltale evidence
will be available to snooping
reconnaissance p l a n e s
should the Russians decide t
ship the new missile to
Cuba.
This is. but one of several
worries now surfacing in the
wake of what seems to be a
major transition in the
shape of the Soviet strategic
striking force. It. could well
force. some. major changes
n U.S: armaments and, if it Today, five years later, e
asn't already, initiate a is head of the C ntral In-
ew "escalation" in the telligence Ag~ Cy.ttl';
rms race. Ruhsirans_[1re parading two
It is the contention of solid - fuled missiles which ;
most informed observers. they say are designed to be
ere that the Soviets never eyed submarines.
i
-
k
s
et or m
arade a new roc
Reborn is in an interesting -has ile until long after it position to check on the sc-
one into service, possibly c
of his forecast
.
urac
is much as two or three .Y
ears This would allow The Soviet switch to land-
lenty of time for a substan- based solid fueled' ICBMs,
ial buildup. about to be launched from
But there is a large area an underground silo that'
f doubt here. Neither Rus- also-protects them, presents;.
ian nor U,S. intelligence is a new complication for the";
e mis-J
nd deployment figures.
The "missile gap" of the
960 election campaign was
based upon prior estimates
of the number of big liquid
ueled ICBMs the Russians
ould produce. -Once the
e n n e d y administration'
took office, however, the in-
telligence estimates were tion whether enough Minute
revised. Defense Secretary man and Polaris missiles
Robert S. McNamara let it are being built. The planned
be known that the, Soviets total is 1,000 Minutemen and
had not built very many 656 Polat?is, the latter.';
ICBMs and, very shortly, it' aboard 41 submarines.
was claimed that the "mis- . Last year, McNamara, kill
sile gap" was in favor of the ed a plan to add 20 more
TT Q
At the time, there was
that the Russians
conjecture
,
had dropped the hard - to. -.
Minutemen to the force. He
said they weren't 'needed in
view of current development
of the more deadly Minute-
man II
favor of easy-to-launch sol- Just two weeks ago, how-
id fueled missiles. It ' now ever, the secretary had a
appears this is precisely change.of mind about what
what happened. . was needed to fight the war
In this connection, it is in Viet Nam. The admini'stra-
perhaps timely to recall that.. tion is now asking another
back in 1960? Adm. William $700 million. for planes and
F. Raborn contended on sev- ammunition,
eral occasions the Polaris
missile was about five years It. will`be interesting to see
ahead of Russia; Reborn if the new evidence of Soviet
was then boss of the Polaris ICBM muscleorces another
program change ?:in thinking.'
war names. ? os
siles will be much harder to ;i
knock out in the event of an'
all-out- conflict. It will take,.
more U.S. missiles'to do the
job.
Need Cited
CPYRGHT.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00001 R000100090041-3