U.S. PLANS MX MISSILE 'RACE TRACKS'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400360024-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2004
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: August 9, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

THE BALTIMORE SUN
ARTICLE AP ~ed For Release ZKWRJ, 12 lp)#-RDP88-01315R00046d424-6
U.S . duns
MX missile
'race tracks'
Washington (AP)-Senior Carter ad-
ministraton officials have reached a basic
consensus for a $28 billion proposal to de-
ploy 200 big new MX mobile missiles in
widespread "race track" patterns that
would minimize environmental effects.
This was disclosed by administration
sources who said the. Defense Secretary,
Harold Brown, explained the plan in detail
yesterday to a high-level policy review
council, including the national security ad-
viser, Zbigniew Brzezinski; the Secretary
of State, Cyrus R. Vance, and others.
Njr. Brown has not yet formally recom-
mended the deployment plan to President
Carter, but is expected to do so within the
next couple of weeks.
Mr. Carter decided in early June to
move into full-scale development of the
190,000-pound iMX missile in such a way
as to save it from destruction in a possible
surprise attack by accurate Soviet mis-
siles.
But he left for later a final decision on
how to move and hide the new missile, this
country's biggest so far, among thousands
of blast-proof shelters.
Since then, Pentagon experts have been
shaping and reshaping deployment con-
cepts with the aim of satisfying both the
missile "survivability" requirement and
environmental concerns of governors and
others in the affected Western states.
Defense authorities have said they be-
lieved the latest design concept, in which
the 200 missiles would bef" uttled among
about 4,600 horizontal. "protective struc-
tures" in Utah and Nevada valleys, meets
all the necessary standards.
Each MX missile carries 10 powerful
nuclear warheads. Meanwhile, some key Serat'i critics of
the SALT lI nuclear arms limitation
agreement with the Soviet Union have in-
'h eaied their vote on ratification may
hinge on pushing ahead with the MX as
soon as possible.
Mr. Brown has said the M.X, which
would be combat-ready about 1986, is es-
sential with or without the SALT treaty
because the present force of U.S. land-
based Minuteman missiles will become
vulnerable to possible knockout in their
fixed underground launch silos within a
few years.
The plan now nearing final decision
would deploy the 200 missiles in a series
of closed-course patterns that look
roughly like angular race tracks
There would be 23 "hardened" shelters'
in each race track pattern, built on side.
spur roads. One missile would be moved
about inside each pattern of 23 shelters so
the Russians would be unable to tell where
the missiles are at any given time.
The missiles would be carried aboard
giant 700,000-pound transporter vehicles
that would move on surface roads and
which, if- necessary, could "dash" from
one shelter to another in emergencies. If
necessary, the missiles could be fired
from these giant vehicles.
Each shelter, which would be about
half above and half below the surface,
would be fitted with verification doors
that could be opened from time to time to
permit the Russian spy satellites to "look"
inside. In that way, officials said, the Rus-
sians could be assured that the United
States was not cheating on the SALT
agreement by hiding extra missiles.
The latest plan replaces a concept that
was favored in June, but that was opposed
by state officials because it called for
slashing the. countryside .with concrete
trenches instead of surface roads and be-
cause it would take more land out of pub--
lic use than they were ready to accept. -
Under the current plan,. the number of
shelters has been cut nearly in hail from
the original 8,804 and the net amount of
land that would be taken over has been
squeezed down to about 25 square miles
from the roughly 100 square miles in the
original concept. That plan called for
building the shelters along strips of
trenches in linear patterns.
As things now stand, about 200 acres
around each shelter would be fenced off,
as would be two sizable missile assembly
bases.
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400360024-6