TOP ICBM TEST FAILURES FORCED FULL OVERHAUL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70B00338R000300090001-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2006
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 31, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2006/01/30 : CIA-RDP70B00338R000300090001-5
Top ICBM Test Failures,
Forced Full Overhaul
Repairs have had to be made further Information on the
to all of the most modern U.S. missile failure was immediately
intercontinental ballistic mis- available.
siles because of the failure of In other subcommittee test!-
,missiles to fire in three tests last mony released yesterday,
October, according to testimony Foster said the United States
before a congressional commit- has planned a deterrent missile
tee made public today. force which would overwhelm
Dr. John F. Foster Jr., direc- the Soviet antimissile defense
tar of defense research and en-? system.
gineering, told a House Appro.. To assure the destruction of
priations subcommittee that the the Soviet system, Foster said,
first failure occurred on Oct. 8, the strategy would be "sheer
1966, in a test of an operational exhaustion of the enemy ballis-
Minuteman 11 missile near tic missile defense and then
Grand Forks, N.D. having enough re-entry vehicles
"On Oct. 19, 1966, a launch left over to cause assured
was attempted, but the missile destruction."
failed to enable," 'he said. Another witness, Lt. Gen.
Censors Delete Answer Austin W. Betts, chief of re-
"This was traced to a sub- search and development for the
standard resistor which has Army, said Russia leads the
been corrected. The third sched- United States in the develop-
uled try, actually the second meat of germ and chemical
launch attempt, aborted in the
terminal countdown due to an warfare weapons.
indicated guidance failure. The Betts said the United States
problem was traced to a capac- should pursue development of
itor failure. An engineering such weapons.
change proposal has been issued
to eliminate this problem."
"Immediately," he added, "a
retrofit program was started for
all of the Minuteman II mis-
siles."
The Minuteman is a solid-fuel
missile, based in an under-
ground silo and theoretically
capable of being launched within
minutes of an order to respond
to an enemy attack.
Defense Department censors
deleted Foster's answer to a
question as to how many of the'
missiles had to have parts
replaced.
At the time of his testimony,
on March 20, all of the missiles
were operational, he said, 3L,
he described the over-all redi-
ness of the Minuteman Ind
submarine-based Polaris is-
siles forces as "excellent."
Deterrent Force Planne
The Defense Departmeres
a continuing program, 1;rt
told the committee, of acty
firing operational missilesa
test basis to make sure thatry
would be able to operate lase
of a war.
In reply to a question,, a
department spokesman said no
Approved For Release 2006101130 : A-RDP70B00338R000300090001-5