SOVIETS DON'T HONOR SALT, BUT U.S. WILL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000302330074-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 10, 2012
• Sequence Number: 74
• Publication Date: June 10, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/10: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302330074-3
WASHINGTON TIMES
10 June 1985
Soviets
don't
honor
SALT., but
Russians spotted buildfrig
up to 20 new ICBM bases
B
Bill G
y
ertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
U.S. intelligence has detected con-
strue ton o up to new 5
intercontinental ballistic missile
as o
es thrw ho urthe oviet
nion 1111111 - to a CIA P~+
rculating in
ci intelligence circ to
1 les:
p
on Soviet
Military power, issued ju
t
s
two
months ago, the Defense De
t
par
-
ment said that only two SSX
bases are under construction. -25
An administration source, who
requested anonymity, said the intel-
ligence report describes the new
bases as groups of garages with slid-
ing roofs surrounded by other
buildings. Each base contains u
nine SSX p to
-25 garages indicating a
planned deployment of up to 180
missiles.
The large number of new bases
for the single warhead SS-25 indi-
. Cates the Soviets are moving ahead
more rapidly in deploying the new
mobile missile than Defense Depart-
ment planners previously had
anticipated, the source said.
firm an findinJ
~
s
of the re rt, b t
White House s o cesman
$. ssaidr a, -_o ert
ortions 51
o be
Mr Sims could not provide details
on the estimate but said information
in the report was "impressive" and
contained data on Soviet military
have." Programs .,that the public should
A d
version of the
eclassified al intelligence timatewill be
released in the near future, Mr. Sims
said.
"These things have to be -done so
carefully," Mr. Sims said of the de-
classification process. "Parts of it
n its latest public re
ort
may leak out, but we'll be careful
about our review."
The Reagan adminstration has
charged that the mobile SSX-25 mis-
sile violates a 1979 SALT II treaty
prohibition against building a sec-
ond new type of ICBM. President
Reagan is expected to 'announce
today his decision on continued U.S.
compliance with the treaty that was
signed but never ratified by the
United States.
The Soviets have dismissed the
administration charge by arguing
that the SSX-25 is a modified version
of the SS-13, an ICBM already
deployed when the SALT' treaty was
agreed upon, and is therefore not a
new missile. They say the United
States underestimated the payload
capacity of the SS-13, which the
administration believes carries only
half the throw weight of the SSX-2,5.
The Pentagon's latest report on
the Soviet defense posture, "Soviet
Military Power,' describes the
SSX-25 as "nearing deployment"
The report says the two believed
under construction are deweribed as
lavncher garages equipped with
sliding roofs and several support
buildings to house the necessary
mobile support equipment"
The exact locations of the new
bases have not yet been made public,
but other published reports have
revealed that the two suspected
SSX-2.5 sites identified by the Penta-
gon are located at the Yoskar Ola and
Yurya Missile Complexes in Central
Siberia.
In an e f f o r t to bring public atten-
tion tot '11,' 1 1 111 retxrrt t ree ?
scn-
ators sent President Rea pan a letter.
Iasi ursdav reuu stin l th.rt. the
findin gs of the estimate he made
availahlt tothe2uhhcassoonaspus_
sititt
The letter, signed h Senti Jesse
Helms, R.-N.C., .lames McClure, R.-
l{da c nom, n East - .
states
1,cieu the
tic muse on t c rn in ~s a the
ea .,
Quentin Crommelin, co-author of
the recent hook "Soviet Military
Supremacy," said that SSX-2Ss,
while mobile, require base facilities
for maintenance and deployment
and that it was possible the Soviets
are building the bases for this pur-
pose
't'he soviets have deployed more
than 40(1 mobile SS-20s, two-thirds of
which are targeted against Western
Europe, the Pentagon has said. The
lk:fensc: 1)e.~partment has detected
"some shifting" of' SS-208 "as the
Soviets prepare for the deployment
of the SSX-25;' the Defense f)epart-
mcnt publication stated:
"'t'hat:s one indication that the
SS-20 should he considered an inter-
continental missile," Mr. Crommelin
said in an interview.
The SSX-25 is a solid propellent
ICBM mounted on a truck-like vehi-
cle. Its range is 8.750 miles and it is
capable of moving quickly on roads
to avoid attackor detection.
The only U.S. counterpart to the
SSX-25 is the small, single-warhead
ICBM Called the Midgetman that
Preset tly rs a research project.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/10: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302330074-3