MISSILES GO TO SEA

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP70B00338R000300100047-3
Release Decision: 
RIFPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
1
Document Creation Date: 
December 19, 2016
Document Release Date: 
January 10, 2006
Sequence Number: 
47
Case Number: 
Content Type: 
NSPR
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PDF icon CIA-RDP70B00338R000300100047-3.pdf87.19 KB
Body: 
Approvlwlg~ es 0?C 01/3?:C RRDPP70B00338R000300100047-3 By HANSON W. BALDWIN The nuclear age has gone to sea. Last week's news from the Pentagon that the Navy is study- ing a ship-based anti-ballistic mis- sile system emphasizes once again -in modern context-Alfred Thayer Mahan's "influence of sea power upon history." In mobility and in weapons, the marriage of the "Nuke" and the ship has transformed the two- dimensional navy with control of the seas as its objective to a three-dimensional navy with the added objective of attack against, and defense of, the great continen- tal land masses of the world. Strategically and tactically the role of the Navy has been trans- formed by the nuclear age; the depths of the sea, the space above the atmosphere and every part of every land mass on earth are now accessible to modern naval power. Today, the single most impor- tant nuclear contribution of the Navy is its fleet of 41 missile- firing submarines, each equipped with 16 missiles, each capable of destroying with its megaton nu- clear warhead any city on earth. Nuclear-powered engines-which require no air-enable these sub- marines to remain completely sub- merged for indefinite periods and their mobility and invisibility give them unequaled defensive invul- nerability. Plans for Poseidon The submarine-launched ballistic missile has, moreover, another ma- jor asset; it draws the lightning of enemy nuclear attack toward the seas rather than-as land- based missiles do-toward the the populated land. In the next few years the Po- laris family of missiles will be succeeded by the fourth-generation Poseidon, a missile with greater power, capable-alternatively-of carrying a larger warhead for a longer distance or several war- heads, as well as various devices known as penetration aids to help the missile break through the en- emy's defenses. This submarine missile force, which is an important part of the nation's strategic nuclear offensive capability, may become even more important in the next step of the arms race. If the Russians de- velop MIRV-Multiple Individual- ly guided Reentry Vehicles-or several warheads for each missile, each capable of maneuvering ne o along a different trajectory to its missiles could be made during may become so great that the de- fensive answer may have to be to put more missiles at sea. In addition to the Navy's ballis- tic missile bombardment force, the Navy's planes, flown from carrier decks, have a definite role in nu- clear war. However, the nuclear role of naval aviation is now more "tactical" than "strategic"; the targets of naval aircraft are primarily near the periphery of the enemy's territory-submarine bases, airfields, radar and missile sites-rather than targets deep in the interior. Nuclear Depth Charge The Navy, like the other serv- ices, has developed so-called tac- tical, or smaller, nuclear weapons for specific purposes. A nuclear depth charge, which can be pro- jected from plane or surface ship, is designed for use against enemy submarines. Small atomic bombs for taking out point targets-such as a strongpoint on a beach, are available. As far as is known, the Navy has no nuclear shells, but its short-range missiles-fired from surface ships or from planes-can carry nuclear warheads. Develop- ment of a naval model of the Army's 175 mm. gun is under way, and a whole "family" of new naval guns, some with rocket-assisted shells, others with devices to mul- tiply present ranges many times. are under study. Any or all of these could utilize nuclear shells or warheads. The Navy has also pioneered in the use of nuclear power for sur- face ships; the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise has chalked up records in combat off Vietnam. Nuclear power for sur- face ships provides virtually un- limited high-speed cruising range, frees the ship of dependence upon oilers, eliminates stack gases and provides so many other advantages that despite Secretary McNamara's reluctance (based on greater costs) a nuclear powered fleet for all major vessels seems certain. The Navy's seagoing anti-ballis tic missile system would work this way. A number of ships-some with powerful radar, others as launching vessels-would position themselves across the "window" or angle of approach of missiles launched against the United States from bases in Communist coun- tries. Such a sea-based system would provide an outer li f App et pp tiff?15W, %36"CC A4;ZD1QMBM80000300100047-3 i~i clf~r as ore mma phase.