REPORTED COMMENTS OF R. DELAUER RE SOVIET SPACE LASERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83M00914R001000060052-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 20, 2007
• Sequence Number: 52
• Publication Date: March 3, 1982
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2007/02120: CIA-RDP83M00914R001000060052-2 ~~a~
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
Date: 3 March 1982
T0:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
NIO/SP
SA/DCI/IA
Reported Comments of R. DeLauer
re Soviet Space Lasers
REMARKS:
Today's Washington Post carries an
article (attached) reporting on Soviet
space-laser development attributed to
Richard DeLauer.
SOYA has done a short commentary
(attached) pointing out the discrepancies
between DeLauer's reported remarks and
the findings of NIE 11-3/8.
Please prepare by 1300 today a short
note for the Director setting the record
straight. You may wish merely to indicate
concurrence with the SOYA note. Please
attach the relevant paragraphs from
11-3/8.
cc: DDI
SA DCI
/DDCI
. ~ _ C r~lS,
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 THE WASHIN'~~~R~'f~f?r4~~l~~c~a~?0~~~~h
(~,ront page) .
Sovtzts ~?~~~rte
~ec~c~ t~~ ~rb~~ :-.. .
~t~ser ~e~c~no~~s_:
By George'I;: Nilson.
ws~DU3tonPo~S4sftWAter
The Soviet milit:~? is well on its
way to seizing the ~h ground of
outer space, with the first big step
the likely deploSme~t of lasers the-~
as eazly as next year, the Pentegoii'a
research director svd in secret ~a-
pers inadvertently move public.- '
While the space:ta;ed lasers ~~ose
an early threat to A~~rican satellites
used for sp5-ing; cs~mmunicating,
navigating and gci~ing `?rtiissiEes,
Richard D. DeLauer ~irtted an e~~n
grimmer picture fortl'~ 1994x_
"tVe expect a Lc:-~, permanent,
manned orbital spaces complex to be
operational by si4rtit 1990 _ , .
capable of effectivdly attacking .: .
ground, sea and ~r targets:.~rqm
space; he told the Rouse -Armed
Services Committee. =
DeI,auer's stat~,ent -~ was, slip-~ ,
posed to have been 'l~~pt~seccet, Litt .
Rep. Ken Kramer K~-Colo.3 read it '
aloud last v;eek dua:~?~a a pubtio he~r.~
ina,'where it was tape-rectirtled~ by -
Walter Andret~s of Army Times as.d
published in that. newspaper ."t6i~ ,
week. ~ ~ - ~ .
DeLauer's assessrnent represeitta:a`~
big advance ova previous of6cal ~~
assessments of Soviet preparations. ~`
for space cvazfare, and- threatens to?
add a new dim~niorr to the'armS~ .
race between tl~ superpowers, ~. : ~:
Efforts to n[c-~ltiate a trayi otJc'of. ? .
anti-satellite vea.gions have riot f~.en
successful to date, although -~ the.:
United Staten and the Soviet [~a,ior'r . ?
agreed in 1!'iti? "not to. place inr orbit- `
around the earth, install oa: '.,tl1e:
moon or any other celestial ~.dy or:.
' otherwise station in outer spot n12=`,
clear or any other weapons?~i mas;~,
destruction." ?? ~ ? '_ ~ .
? The UrS. military has be~omt:i`n=~
creagingly dependent on?sa-tritites`? - .
whirling amend the earth to`~deter=.-
mine what-weapons the St~viets hatie~':
produced, to provide warnirt~, of .loll w?' .
. "clear-.attack,' to _ communicate= fmri:.?:..~
-~: one part of the.eazth to another; t4: ~;=?.; .
"guide ships over the sea and rinsa9iles:"' -
through the sky arid?-to ~tell~~oWiers; ~?~.~~~;~;
:rs:i:'?.~-See SPACE,-Af3?~ott4.;,;~-~N~~:;~ x~;~
D P 83 M 00914 R 001000060052-2
exactly where they are on the ground
at any given moment.
If DeLauer is correct, all those
satellites may he threatened by pow-
erful beams of light shot from lasec
guns riding arowid in space, where
there is no atmosphere to bend and
weaken the destructive rays. How-
ever, he could be giving too much
credit to Soviet technolotry.
1~'ortner defense secretary Harold
Brown credited the Soviets uyth
weapons that might knock rnit Iow-
flying spy satellites, but not the ones
that hang over the earth at an alti-
tude of 2.3,000 miles.
Defense Secretary Caspar W,
Weinberger hag earmarked $218.:1
million in the fiscal 1983 budget for
space defense. He said, "We are as-
sessing the technical feasibility of
'space-based laser weapons."
The Air Force is pursuing a num-
ber of weapons that could he shot
into 4pace to seek and destroy Soviet
satellites. One 'sdea is to rely on a
collision, rather than explosives, to
destroy the satellites, with iron shot
and an umbrella of metal arms
among the concepts.
"If our understanding of Soviet
space doctrine is correct," DeLauer
said, "[it] will allow. the Soviets to
begin to place in orbit in the early
1990s systems capable of effectively
attacking ground, sea and air tazgetg
~~ from space." In other words, troops,
ships and aircraft would be imper-
iled by Soviets looking down on
them from their space ships, if De-
Lauer is correct.
The making pubic of DeLauer's
estimates is almost certain to help
build support for a bigger Pentagon
space program, raising the question
of whether the disc}ost~re was pur-
poseful. Reporter Andrews said last
night that i)el,auer bad tried to dis-
suade the Times from. printing his
statements, saying that "it would iiot
be a good idea." -
A source at the committee, where
Itramer read DeLauer's' comments
at a .public hearing last Thursday,
said the quotations from Andrews'
tape were accurate. ? A committee
staffer stopped Kramer before he
had read the entire DeLauer state-
ment on the Soviet space program.
Air Force Gen. B. L. Davis, com-
mander of the Strategic Air Com-
mand, had told the committee the
day before in public session that,
unless the United States prepares tit
operate in space, '"I'he ~ovieGs will
eventually be able to deny us use of
space as a support medium and use
it as a high ground to launch attacks.
an U.5. targets. If they should
achieve superiority in space, they
could well attain a decisive war-
winning edge." '
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 Approved For Release-z`~9{~^z''fL~^' ^ nr~nann nnnn~ ? ~ n ~L ~ ~
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March 1982
USSR: Orbiting 7~~::~~_ r Vdr~:,~i,ons
7n an ~tri' i cle i n th i :~ i :~~rn i riy' ;; j?;~+5}lingt-can Past,
De~az~t;rc:nt of Dofcasc rc~t~carch direaGor Richard DeLauer is
rePari;ed to have c7 ai mc:d t.}~~~t t2ic SUVi.tts coul$ deploy lasers
in s~~acc as early as next year. DeLauer is gt;ot:ed as saying
thaL? "we expect a large, pc~r~:anant, rapped c:rhital space
c:omF~lex to be operaFional by abput t99~.._caF~able of nffectivetx
attackincJ,,.yround, sea and air targets from space.? ~~
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