U.S. DEVISING A SKY SPY TO KEEP AN EYE ON SOVIET

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400390075-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 3, 2004
• Sequence Number: 75
• Publication Date: April 18, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R0004c 3O75f-T u i
ARTICLE APPF_kRFD
ON PAGE / c > - -_
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
18 April 1979
By JEFFREY. ANTEVIL
Washington (News Bureau) --
The United States is developing a
highly sophisticated spy satellite
that will fully replace the capability
to monitor. Soviet missile develop-
ments which was lost when Irans
new revolutionary government.
closed down American intelligence
bases there, it.was learned yester-
day.
Carter administration sources, dis
closing that work on the new stationary,
rprnnnaissance-satellite is under way,
b
told the Daily News that it will not
e -still believes, as Brown said in a Nevv
s -completed and deployed before 1983 or York speech last week, that this intelli-
198. But they insisted that the short- pence must be replaced. They said this
' fall In U.S. ability to. keep an eye on would be done when the new spy.satel
Soviet nuclear missile testing without ._lite- becomes operational four or five,
l the spy posts in Iran would. not hamper years from now.
verification of the existing, strategic- But they emphasized that thesei
arms limitation treaty or the new one capabilities relate not to verifying
nearing completion (SALT-2). , SALT, which deals mostly with limita-
Monitoring functions with U-2s ` tions on numbers and types of missiles,'
The sources said the important but. to other Soviet developments such
SALT monitoring franckions which the as launch techniques and missile speed.
U.S. had carried out from the secret Although these developments are not
listening posts in Iran, just across the covered by SALT, the sources said, in
border from the major Soviet missile some cases they are of even greater-
test facility, could be carried out ade- interest to American military planners.
quately by means of high-flying U-2 spy "On a timely basis"
plane flights near the Soviet border.
But they indicated that as U.S.. and ' State Department spokesman?
Soviet negotiators work to wrap up the Thomas Reston, meanwhile, repeated
final details of SALT-2, the Americans administration pledges that the' U.S: "
would welcome private assurances from will not sign an arms treaty "which,ls~
the Russians that. they would not con not adequately verifiable", Reston said
demn . U-2 flights': over neighboringthe administration was confident that=
the . means to insure adequate verifica-
countries such as Iran and Iraq as hos- tile acts against the Soviet-Union 'Jion " w o u l d be ? found "on;.a?..timely
j ;basis:' a
Pact may be signed In May He said the U.S.- would ` be = faced'
Such assurances would make: it easi= with the need to monitor Soviet strate;--
er ' for the Carter'. administration- to,_ gic missile programs even without the
argue, In the face ofwidespread con new treatybut that thistask'would'be
gressional doubts about the new treaty's , more difficult In the absence of SALT.-
verifiability, that the U.S. will be able provisions such as the ban on deliberate
to monitor Soviet compliance even with- :concealment or other Interference with-
out the'bases in Iran. intelligence systems needed to monitor
Resolving these doubts about ? veri-- :-compliance with the pact
necessary two-thirds Senate vote to rati-
fy ALT-2. The 'treaty- reportedly may
be signed next month and submitted to.
the Senate in June
Recent public and- private comments
by top U.S. officials, including Defense
Secretary Harold Brown and CIA Direc-
tor Stansfield Turner, appeared to hold
the door open for the administration ta. .
argue that the signing should be delay
ed until the intelligence capability lost:?
.in Iran had been fully replaced. But:
sources insisted, yesterday that this was
not the case.
The sources said the administration
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400390075-7