SECRET ARMS PROGRAMS PROLIFERATE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000706980003-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 13, 2011
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: April 10, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/13 :CIA-RDP9O-009658000706980003-2
Trend Criticized
Secret Arms
Programs
Proliferate
"? By RALPH VARTABEDIAN,
_ Times Staf f Writer ,
A Soviet observation satellite
flies over Los Angeles each day to
check out operations at any of half
a dozen industrial plants involved
in military projects that are the
Pentagon's most classified. '
"Every day they count the cars
in my parking lot," said Ben Rich, a
!, Lockheed Corp. executive who has
presided over the production of
whole fleets of secret aircraft.
' - So, how many cars does Rich
have in his Burbank parking lot?
? : "I can't tell you that.' It's secret,"
? he replied. ?. ~ .. '.~
~~ - "But the Soviets should already.,
know that Lockheed has as many `
as-10,000 workers building a' new.
~ fleet of aircraft that utilize Stealt3l
technology.
LUS ANGELES TI*fES
10 npril 1y85
While almost every weapon in-
volves some classified informa-
tion-the range of a torpedo, for
instance-many of these programs
are so highly classified that their
very existence is not acknowl-
edged. Even in the case of the
Stealth bomber, which has been
officially disclosed, its costs, quan-
tities and production timetable are
top secret. ,
er secrecy at the Pentagon, critics
say, has important implications for
a democracy that depends on public
oversight. The Pentagon is seeking
to avoid scrutin t~ c t ,
b oc cin the ublic's ~ to
in ormation on DTOnramS that
probabh?^''?r m Snv,et
intelligence.
Beyond Public Scrutiny
This so-called "black" world of
military programs has become
nearly a S30-billion industry-
based largely in California-that
encompasses tens of thousands of ,
employees working under Penta-
gon clearances and beyond public
scrutiny. ,
Funding for such secret Penta- .
gon procurement and .research has
increased sixfold between the last
year of the Carter Administration
in 1980 and the upcoming Reagan
Administration budget for 1986:
I "And the proportion of the De-
~.fense Department budget for pro-
cerement and research that is
classified has increased to 20%
from 10%, according to former _
Under Secretary of Defense Rich
and D. DeLauer. ' ~ ~ '.
'. 'The growth of black programs is
part of an even broader trend
toward greater secrecy at the Pen- ;~
tagon, which has restricted access
to certain key budget- documents -'
that previously were open to the
'public, limited the exchange of .
academic knowledge in U.S. col-.
leges, and curtailed exports of
commercial products on national
security grounds. '
The Pentagon contends that
greater secrecy is necessary to
maintain leadership ~ in weapons
that rely on advanced technologies
i. in electronics, optics and materials.
With such weapons becoming
~~ the norm rather than the exception,
~ the .nation is ,now producing ever,
i more :major systems in secret.
Among them aze an intercontinen-
tal nuclear. bomber, a tactical jet
'R_- fighter, a variety of spacecraft and
~; ?space; weapons, cruise missiles,
computers, radars and even some
aactical;missilea.,. ., ~ ~ ., _ 7,,- . .
Across town TRW Inc. has
17 000 workers in the Redondo
Beach region largely building se- ,
cret sov satellites such as the
Magnum eavesdropping satellite
that was sent up m the space
shuttle earlier this year, according
~to industry sources.. - .-.
.And in Palmdale; an imposing
iron structure is rising off the
!, Mojave Desert that will apparently
.be the final assembly.center of the
advanced technology bomber, an-
? other secret program :.. ~> - ?. ? ~-
' All of these facthUes and similaz
ones throughout the nation are part
of, an industrial network, almost a
separate economy;-that serves a.
rapidly expanding agenda of secret
Def ense Department programs.. _? , ;
Limited Competition
Of direct impact to taxpayers,
critics add, black programs are
significantly more costly because
of staggering security costs and
limited business competition.
Concern over such programs has
not been limited to traditional Pen-
tagon critics. They include usually
staunch defenders of the Pentagon
.and individuals responsible for ma-
jor contributions to the nation's
weapons technology..
"I believe we have classified too
much, .said Edward Teller, the
scientist who played a key role in
developing the hydrogen bomb and
a major advocate of President Rea-
gan's "Star Wars" plan. "Secrecy is
a measure that hurts our opponents
a little and us a great deal."
- Teller and other critics -worry
that increased reliance on secret
', programs ultimately could prove
dangerous to the economy, and
national security.
'Looks Like Absurdity'
"In nuclear weapons, where we
had the greatest of secrecy, the
Soviets are now ahead of us; '
.Teller said. "In electronics, where
we had very -little government
secrecy, we aze way ahead of
others, particulazly the Soviets. It
looks like an absurdity, but who is
ahead depends not only what, they
`learn from us but on the speed of
our own development." - + _
Scientists and academics argue
that economic and technological.
development' in capitalist econo-?
~.mies has always depended on thg
flow, of information and the ex-`',
. change of scientific knowledge -
It',is open communication that .
tests ~ ideas and .exposes the .bad
ones; ' said Robert Rosenzweig,;
president of the Assa. of American
Universities, which has fought
Pentagon, efforts to restrict the.
exchange of even unclassified in-~
r formation. "It is not.,the case_that:
S AT T
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we are smarter than the Russians.
Our advantage is in the way we are
organized and in our system."
In the case of weapons, secrecy
at best creates only ashort-term
advantage under special circum-
stances,such as the development of
the atomic bomb during World
Waz II, said Rosenzweig. In the
long haul, secrecy has never made ,
one nation stronger than another,
he says.
High-technology weapons de-
veloped under extraordinazy se-
crecy are also among the most
expensive militazy systems that the
nation builds, according to sources
who are either involved in the
work or who have studied it closely
from the outside. ,_
Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. in
Sunnyv~a e, or examp e, is believed '
to ng a massive~tq
reconnaissance sate~ite~IIca ed the
at an estunate cost of 51
b on, m g it a most e~cpen-
sive sae a ever, accorat_~to
John--~"ike, an y a e encan
? : Fe era ono cien s in as -
The B=1 bomber, which is being
produced openly by Rockwell In-
ternational Corp., would cost twice .
i as much as the current 5200 million
per aircraft if it had to be produced .
in the black, according to Sam
~ Iacobellis, president of Rockwell
International Corp.'s North Ameri-
can Aircraft Operations.
There are staggering costs for
site security, .personnel security .
cleazances and .loss of efficiency
due to "compartmentalization; ' a
standazd policy in secret programs ~ ,
that permits only a few top manage :,
ers to know all of the details about a'
!',pmduct, or even what the product-
4 _. Secret military business is never
conducted in ordinary buildings. ?
Black buildings have highly secure
i rooms, surrounded by walls up to a '.
foot thick that seal in conversations,
Staggering Costs
to their- secrecy, reliable and re-
~ spected figures in the defense in-
I' ~~ust~y say the Pentagon's black-
f programs are faz more expensive to
ington. .
+-:Although an exhaustive analysis
of such programs is impossible due
and cannot be penetrated by sen-
sors. These buildings usually are
without windows; if a building has
windows, they are made of special
glass that is impervious to radio
waves.
Scrambler Telephones
Special scrambler telephones
that transmit signals in code are
needed to discuss secrets. Even
special sprinkler systems are need-
ed, because regulaz metal sprinkler
systems act as antennas that spies
can use to tap into computer and
communications systems.
~, "You see that mailbox two blocks
~" k d e to executive at
n P
menta]ized; and has puIerent u~-rA,
of authority-for managing its white
and black programs. The Air Force
Space Division in El Segundo, for
?instance, has two sepazate organi .~
nations, a white one that reports
away.. as a o
ro ams that I could bid on if I was
a defense firm, pointing out an P gi'
unsecure window. "With the right given the opportunity, but I
equipment, I could sit out there and wasn'L." = '~'
listen to :every word we are saying `Defense industry executives are
and every word that is being typed reluctant to publicly criticize the
into computers in this building." ~ level of secrecy as excessive be-
~` cause of the Penta on's sensitivity
Employees on black programs g
require detailed security cleazanc- to any level of discussion about
es that .can take six months to a such programs. But some execu-
,year of costly- investigation. And i uves are clearly opposed to current
while that investigation is being r; trends. .
~` conducted, those employees are on ;. Democratic Instincts -
a contractor's payroll, often with j ' ~ "Black programs aze the military
unproductive assignments, defense ': i; industrial complex at its worst,"
,. - ~ -- says a corporate officer of a major..
executives say. _ - - ' r ~ ~ eles defense firm. "All the
~.' ~ . :Rich, president of Lockheed Ad- i normal gnstincts in a democracy-
i vanced Aeronautics Co., said in a coin etition and eachan a of
~, :recent interview that he fires or P g
transfers an average of 100 em- ~ ideas-just vanish completely' _ ~
b~..__ _ - ~_ - `~ ~ F.'. Such views may be gaining ~c-.
~,ployees each yeaz`out of his secret ~ k-ceptance in Congress, ~wh~ch' is
programs as potential security. ~: increasingly concerned with., the
risks. Drug'abuse, excessive drink- loss of public oversight ,in defense
ling and even family disputes are spending. ` ` ~ - ' '
- :;thereasons. - ~ ~ "As the Pentagon has been given
', ~ Compartmentalization is also a j freedom in the last decade to get .
~ ,drag on efficiency. The engineer ~ ~~ these highly classified pro=.
:designing a wing part may not have 8~s there has been abuse," said -
'the ~ clearance to exchange ideas j Anthony Battista, a staff member
"with the engineer designing land- of the House Armed Services Com-'
ing geaz. ~ . suttee who is one of the top
?
l erectly to the assistant secretary of .
I, the Air Force, according to James:
'.Schultz, a former government em-
k ~ployee at the division. . ,...
through .normal military channels ~<
Awarding of Contracts'
Some industry executives say
black .programs also operate with
less competition in the awarding of
both prime contracts and subcon-
tracts, thus tending to drive up
costs.
"You know how I can get' on a
black program? I sit around and
wait for somebody to call me," said
Joseph Caligiuri, Litton Industries
Inc. executive vice president and
one of the top defense electronics
managers in the U.S.
' I think we need black programs,
but as a supplier I am bothered by
it; ' Caligiuri said. "There are black
,
Congressional experts on the Pen;
'~ tagon: "They are throwing a lot of
things under the national security.
- umbrella just to prevent a .rigid
congressional review and (escape
the need) to present budget num-
'hers publicly." .
-. DeLauer, the former defense un-
and ablack one , r?hat has rts own 1 " , dersecretary, along with current
Pentagon officials, said such criti=
cism is "baloney" because there are
designated members ~ of Congress
who have access to black programs
- and keep a close watch on them.
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`Some Real Donnybrooks'
But sometimes even the Con-
gress has been unable to bring
programs into the open that it
'- believes are improperly kept se-
cret.
"We have had some real donny-
brooks over classification," Battista
-said. "You can't tell me that. a
tactical missile belongs in the black
budget. If that's the case, then the
whole Pentagon budget should be
classified."
Such battles are themselves con-
ducted in secret sessions of Con-~
gress. The Pentagon's own censors
go through congressional testimo-
ny for such sessions and delete.
portions they regard as classified.
"There is a~ .tendency to classify
testimony that is embarrassing,"
Battista added.
Members of Congress who criti-
~. cize the Pentagon often say they
chael Burch, assistant secretary of
defense for public affairs. "I am
familiaz with black programs and I
feel that they are justified in being
black."
And few military leaders waiver
in their conviction that govern-
mentsecrecy is needed.
"How does a free and open
society survive in competition with
a ruthless, venal, closed society?"
asked the retired chief of naval
operations, Adm. Elmo Zumwalt
Jr., a defense industry consultant.
"We are such a leaky society that it
is very easy for the Soviets to
penetrate our white world." The
United States, therefore, should-
rely more on black programs
where the secrecy shield would be
' harder to pierce, Zumwalt azgued. .
But retired Rear Adm. Gene
LaRocque, director of the Center
for Defense Information, a Wash-
are denied full access to defense 'criticized the Pentagon; countered
information. Sen. Charles E. Gras- '? by saying, "The way to respond to
sley, who held hearings last year ~ Soviet military capabilities is not to
that .disclosed a gamut of sloppy ~ become like them. If we do that;
" Pentagon practices, said he has f. then we have lost what we are
routinely been denied even unclas- ~ fighting for." .,,
sified information: ~ ~ 6
.: `Secret Only to Public
Public's Rigbt to Hnow ~ ~ r Critics also believe that all too
"The Pentagon is always classi-
fying much more than. needs to be
classified," said Grassley, a conser-
' vative Iowa Republican.."It vio-
ington group that has frequently
~,..
often', the Pentagon's secrets aze _
only secret to the American public.
For"example, when Soviet and.
American" negotiators' agreed to
lates a basic pi~iiiciple-of pazticipa- ~ limit nuclear weapons at the SALT.
tory democracy-that is, the ; II talks in 1979, they. discussed at
public's right to know." ~ length each other's ability to verify::
. The battering on procurement .. .compliance with the treaty.
issues that the Pentagon and its; ~ :~ The discussion inevitably turned'
contractors have taken in Congress. ~ on reconnaissance satellites, tread-
in the last several years is seen by ;': ing close to the deepest military
many even outside of Congress as Y, , ~ secrets in America. How was it that:
tipping the Pentagon scales toward.,: '~ we could deal with the Soviets on_
greater secrecy.. _ , ? - .. ~ '? ~ ,~ top secret spacecraft whose very
Former Defense Secretary Mel- ~ ', existence the Pentagon had never
vin F~. ,Laird said. he believes the ',' r,~officially disclosed to the public?
.Pentagon is making ,some of its + 4 ~~~ we. could tell the American ,
programs black. to escape the con- . , "public, was .that . we had national
troversy and disruption of critics. "a-` : ` :technical meads to verify the trea- .
'~.: .
"They shouldn't be'doing that: ty,". said ~a former azms control.
- -
That's not why things should be .
black. Sometimes there. is aten-
. dency to do it," he said.' .
?.. But Pentagon officials say that
black programs are better managed
i than open programs.- ,_
"The black programs, are more .
? efficient because they are devel-
oped in an orderly process sand not
delayed by partisan, .debate that
will slow things down," said Mi-
r official during the Cartez.Adminis-
F?~tration. "At the same~.time, we',
discussed with the Soviet's, at least
~: implicitly, U.S. satellite,' capability:
' -I thought it was silly." !. , .
i.
3.
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