CARTER TO SUPPORT NEW U.S. BOMBER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 23, 2013
• Sequence Number: 42
• Publication Date: August 14, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
C.V.1.4,00.5.1trarrarreno*M1
Date
ROUTING AND TRANSMITTAL SLIP
TO: (Narrn,..., office symbol, room number,
buading, Agency/Post)
L.,.c.`?
iMtj.
(i
_
Dat
IZ?li
?
1 ,,)
2. /- 6:.:??q.:".?) , `,.,. ,..._ . ?`,\/.
. Auc
...
i
Action
File
Note
and Retitm
Approval
Fnr Clearance
Per Convam-4.ion
As Requested
For Correction
Prepare Reply
FircuLate
:or Your Information
Sea Me
tomment
inve.stigate
Signature
Coordination
i tit_ __
.. I
. --
RE.M.AR
The DCI reviewed this leak on the "Stealth"
bomber for us last Friday. His noteis
attaelled. It seems that Les De:rks told .he
Da that, the research on the low l'adar
visibility bomber was widely known on
capitol and would get out, so the decision was
' made to leak the informoLion to the media
before congress did.
. .
? \-1
Les Dirks apparently informed the DCI the info
was going to be leaked. T would assume the
White House and DOD worked on this one together,
?'N
(8
D NOT ma this form as a RECORD of approvals, concurrences, disposals,
clearances,- and similar actions
,-. ?
Fit0 N
:1. ame , org. symbrA, Agency/Post)
Room No.?Bldg.
Phone No.
5041-102
U. S. CP0.1978-0-261-647/3354
5
OPTPONAL FORM 41 (Rev. 7?M)
Proscribed by GSA
FPM N (41 CFR) 101-11.206
L Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
ISINORANDUM FOR:
4 7A
Date
CORN 11S'E NW/IOUS
r,i
5-75 EDITIONS
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
Date
POUTING AND TRANSMITTAL SLIP
TO: Name. office symbol, room number,
building, Agency/Post)
initials
Date
1.
2.
a
el.
Cic
Action
File
Note and Return
_Approval
For Clearance
Per Conversation
__is
Requested
For Correction
Prepare Reply
Circulate
For Your Information
See Me
Comment
Investigate
Signature
'Coordination
Justify
REMARKS
Georg 50171, Bashington ? Post 81.14/80 L Aviation
week 8/11/80 have articles on new DOD "Stealth.
Bomber" which we believe is highly classj..fied
program at DOD. Perhaps ?DCI may want to discuss
with Secretary Brown concerning is
DO NOT use this form as a RECORD of approvals, concurrences, disposals,
clearances, and similar actions
FROM: (Name, org. symbol. Agency/Post)
5041-un
G.P.O. 1977-241-530/3090
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
Room No.?Bldg.
aniaLtinefrOM?nwncracon,
Phone No.
OPTIONAL ()WA 41. (Rev. -76)
Prescribed by GSA
FFIAR (41 CFR) 101-1L206
STAT
STAT
STAT
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
tarter to Support ? ,
Tei.v.ES. Bomber
By George C. Wilson
Wp.sbtneR'n Post.Lithif iVriter-
President Carter will commit him-
: ? ?.
-' self fo . developing a new strategic
? bomber, perhaps as early as tonight ,
when he accepts renomination at the
. Democratic National Convention, gov-?
ernmek sources said yesterdaY.
Such 'a .'commitment wostdd steal. a
March, on -GOp.'standard-bearer Ron-'?
aid , Reagan 'and -his ?,adli'erents'' wIid
have lambasted Carter for canceling
the El bomber in 1977.
Breakthroughs: - technolooy,
-,',sources said,, will enable Carter to as-.
? gue that his _Cancellation WaS a 'good
_move because the -contemplated nevi
bomber could foil Soviet` ciefenseS'
;which are *beCoraing lethal" enougth to
(10 ,r a BL
. .
One Ley hreakthrongh is a tOP-se-
cret.way to ma ma long-range bomber
_ yirtually. invisible ?to.: enCiny radar ;
used to detect- invading' aircraft and
aim guns and missiles at them,'-:-..* ?-
?..Sbnie Air Porte entliusiaSts have...
?,nicknaMed this new?bombe-4,"Stealth",-.
:because of its ?ghosi-like
. ? ? ? .
? Technocrats- Plain Stealth- presents
?a small,,YirtuallY.'i.indelectable "crosS-
. ,-Section" to radar beams searching for,
???=it.. .TheY----call it thelqfgh--_
- '
Presidential aides have.,drafted re;
narks ? about a*new_bomber for Carter:
to deliver to the Convention tonight
.-
But the president could deeide to, hold -
-off, It de.pends ,in part -on how he
? reads the mood of ? the, convention,
? Sources said: ;
?going to hear* -about the- _Se'?
?"-'neW bomber ?breaLthrou-h..'sooner. Or
later_ in, this campaign,", :00 hnowl-.?
.x edgeahl e official Said in discussing the '
"-administration's Mbatting:.?
Reagan's. claiii? that 'Carter ? has let ??:
down the nation's guard -by" canceling
,-
. - .
the Bl and other 'actions. ' ? ..ee'
; Although the Air Force is Secretive
? about the breakthroughs for foiling
enemy radar, Lt. Gen. Kelly H. Bui-ke,
Air. Forte* research chief," has said
, publicly that "high on our list of hard; ,
, ware explorations" -in looking for a ?
new bomber "is radai -absorbing mate-
riaL to reduce radar cross-sections,
See IIOMflER, All, Cu!. I
N,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
'Ler* 10
BOMBER, Front Al
which .would improve: surv.ivabilitY
against both:. surface-to-air missiles
And look-down, shoot-down" intereep-
. lor planes. . . ? - ?
? ;, :William J. Perry, Pentagon_ reSear. ?
jhief, contends :that Soviet-strides rn
developing airborne radar that can
rook down and spot invading, low
level bombers would doom the Bl,
..which some members of Congress are
slill championing.
:-
? Perry also opposes the Strategic Air
Command's proposal to 'stretch the
F111 into a long-range bomber for the
1930s and ,1990s. "Over my dead'
body," Perry once said in asserting
? that the stretched F111 did -icit,make .
sense. He would rather go for new
technology to stay ahead of Soviet de-
fenses. . _ -
Carter is thus in position to contend
that the Pentagon experts agree that
better bomber than the B1 was
worth waiting for. He does not have
to -commit himself to putting a
? bomber in production since that deci-
slon is years away.- .
= Beside combating Reagan, Carter'S,
commitment to a new bomber would.T?
get him off the hook with Congress:
The House and Senate, in compromise:
ing an a weapons money bill this year,
? directed the Carter administration to
choose some kind of'bomber by next
March 15.
for a variant of the BT. But th,,y con-
?
cede- going back to any kind of
bomber resembling the B1 would be
'politically uncomfortable for Carter.
An attractive middle ground for
Carter would he to promise to develop
a new bomber, give the public a peek
at the wonder technology now in
reach?Such as airplane skins which
. absorb or deflect radar beams.--and
-leave the specific choice open until
after the November election. ? .
The Air Force Scientific Advisory
Board studied various bomber options
last month and concluded that the
new plane should be able to perform a -
multitude of missions, not just deliver
a nuclear aveapon to a stationary tar
get. Missiles are accurate enough to
do that, the board reasoned.
-
,aey:rcas in vYkoL
August 11 -15
_For fear the Pentagon would balk
at putting a new bomber in produc,
tion, as. it has for two decades now ;
with the E70 and then the Bl, Con-
gress said it wanted whatever bomber
Was chosen to be in service by 1937;
Although this sounds like plenty of .
time to design and produce a new
bomber, it actually is not. Modern -
warplanes take about 10 years to ad-
vance from the drawing board to the
runway.
To some Air Force leaders, this
means Carter will have to settle for a
bomber simpler to build than the
Stealth, perhaps leaving an opening
. ? ? ? - ? .
A muitimission bomber could attack
- moving targets, drop mines or fire
missiles at ships, the board concluded
and repoftedis discouraged the idea
that a virtually "invisible" aircraft
like Stealth could be built anytime
soon. :
Jimmy Carter would not be the first
Democratic president to disclose war-
plane secrets to dramatize a commit:
ment to a strong -national defense.
President Johnson on Feb. 29, 19A,
ripped the secrecy veil off the A-11
spy plane built at the Lockheed
"Skunk Works" in California, a highly
secret facility thnt'is' 'expected to con-
tribute technology to any new bomber
deployed by the United States. '? ??
. .
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23 : CIA-RDP9112B06478R000800340042-1
V it (4' Li LI A f
Landsat Woes Interior Secretary Cecil a Andrus has written Commerce Secretary Philip M.
Klutznick proposing cancellation of the Hughes thematic mapper as part of an
operational Landsat system based initially on Landsat D. Andrus also is concerned
about the threat to U. S. space leadership posed by France, Japan and the USSR. "A
principal obstacle for proceeding at once to the preferred operational [Landsat]
design appears to be the presumption that the Landsat D research missions must
come first," Andrus wrote. "Two and thr-cc years ago, Interior proposed that priority
be given to solid-state multispectral linear array (MLA) technology rather than the
elaborate, expensive and research-oriented thematic mapper (TM). Since then . . .
the TM development has been plagued by delay and cost overruns and it vill
probably be dropped from the Landsat D plans for 1982. I feel it may be time to
consider putting the Tm on a back burner and di?erting some of these funds to an
accelerated ILA procurement."
The Interior secretary is extremely concerned about competition from France,
Japan and Russia in remote sensing markets. "I believe we need a thorough study of
the implications for the President's policy of leadership in space if France and others
are able to offer better resolution data at lower cost before our core system becomes
operational," Andrus wrote Klutznick. "I am concerned that we are not moving as
quickly as we could or as our national interest demands."
Budget Line Held Defense Dept.'s estimated 8195 billion in the Fiscal 1982 budget reflected in the
program decision memorandum holds theline under firm White House pressure not
to exceed 8200 billion for Defense. The budget will terminate high-technology fighter
production in favor of lower-performance fighters, but not necessarily lower-cost
aircraft. While much of the funding in Fiscal 1982 is shifted from, weapons
procurement to tactical readiness programs, the Administration will move to improve
U. S. early warning spacecraft survivability.
In the minimum funding band, mobile terminals for the satellites will be fully
operational by Fiscal 1982, and the Pentagon will maintain the option to deploy a
new-generation early warning spacecraft using infrared mosaic technology. At the
minimum level, the USAF/Boeing E-4A national emergency airborne command posu
will be hardened against electromagnetic pulses as will. Boeing EC-135 Looking Glass
aircraft operated by the Strategic Air Command. Critical land lines used for strategic
communications also will be hardened.
Reopening SALT .On the heels of the Olympic boycott and the Soviet grain embargo comes what one
high-level military officer describes as "wiggles and noises from the White House for
SALT." A number of Administration officials ? in the national security apparatus
confirmed last week that President .Carter still plans to complete a Strategic Arms
Limitation Treaty Nsith the Soviets. ''if we open it [ratification], it will be viewed as
another example. of a lack of decisiveness on the part of the Administration, but there
have been warning 'signals for several weeks on precisely this poini," one Defense
official said. ''Going for SALT now is the equivalent of being the .first pheasant off the
. ground on the first day of hunting season," a Pentagon official
Bomber Biases White House officials see language emerging from the House Appropriations defense
subcommittee on the newly authorized multirole bomber (Aw&sr Aug. 4, p. 16) as
"no problem" because it does not direct the construction of a Rockwell B-1
derivative... As long as the options remain open for the stretched General Dynamics
FB-111, the B-1 and the advanced technology "stealth" bomber, the White House
intends to, continue studies. Some Administration officials believe a delay in the
studies would allow more time to perfect stealth technology. One White House
official said Carter's "bins" against the B-1 continues as strong as in 1977 when the
project was canceled. Furthermore, Carter is not cominced there is agreement in the
Air Force on the need for the new bomber authorized by Congress.?
Both the House and Senate joined in support of an aircraft . that can carry
conventional bombs, cruise missiles and perhaps penetrate Soviet defenses, although
penetration is not the top priority of pro-B-1 derivative forces in Congress. Several in.
the Senate contend Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
William. J. Perry oversold the "stealth" aircraft in order to stop a Senate amendment
for a new but more conventional bomber. Perry's stealth bomber, one senator
complained, is too small, will cost 814-15 billion for SO aircraft and cannot be ready
by 1987, the date requested by Congress. ?Washington Staff
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23 : CIA-RDP92130047RPnnnpnryzArmAn 4
'17
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
q d
"iv ij
? 1-,
By Clarence A. Robinson, Jr.
:Vashing1 on i gh-level military and
congressional leaders will watch closely
o?er the next few months for signs the
Carter Administration is adhering to a
flexible response nuclear weapons target-
ing strategy recently signed by the Presi-
dent.
President Carter's signing of the presi-
dential directive (PD-59) was heralded
within the White. Ilouse and the Pentagon
bureaucracy last week as a move away
from the mutual assured destruction
policy to which the superpowers have
adhered since the beginning of the nuclear
weapons age.
Mutual Assured Destruction
Nlutual assured destruction, or MAD as
it is commonly called, came of age when
an effective defense to nuclear warheads:
could not be envisioned.
The basic tenet is that the populations
of the Soviet Union and the U. S. are held
hostage to a retaliatory attack if the other
side strikes first.
Both President Carter and Vice Presi-
dent Walter Mondale htivc strongly sup-
ported the mutual assured destruction
concept in planning, the U. S. military
structure over the past three years, accord-
ing to high-level military officers in the
r;
417 kr-d
Pentagon, even though the move toward
flexible response started in 1974 at the
time James R. Schlesinger became secre-
tary of Defense.
Flexible strategic options ale aimed at a
gradual escalation of nuclear war instead
of all-out attack, if possible (Awc,nisT June
16, p. 63; May 10, 1976, p. 29).
?If the President's approval of PD- 59 is
only a political ploy to disassociate his
Administration from the MAD label
tacked onto it, there vnill be few changes in
providing funds for certain key systems
required to implement this policy," one
top-level Defense Dept. official said. "If,.
on the other hand, the Adr-tHstration is
serious about flexible response there will
be emphasis to improve areas such as
survivable command, control and commit-
. nications."
Other areas where almost immediate
emphasis would be placed, according to
congressional members, include:
II Approval of the funding for research
and development and long-lead production
funding for a new multirole manned pene-
tration bomber taking, advantage of the
technology from the Rockvnell Interna-
tional B-1.
ri Move 10 a second generation Lock-
Itee.d Trident 2 submarine-launched baths-
Washington?The Defense subcommittee of the House Appro-
priations Committee has approved $175 million for a new bomb-
er that will be designed to penetrate current Soviet defenses and
carry conventional weapons and cruise missiles. During discus-
sion of the new bomber, several members were unsuccessful in
approving a mixture of $125 million for research .and develop-
ment and $75 million for proCurement. The subc.C.;rnrbiltlee then
compromised on a total of $175 milliOn for research.andidevel-
opment.
The subcommittee expects the final aircraft to be an advanced i
derivative of the Rockwell B-1 bomber: that takes advantage of
new technology developed since the bomber was canceled by
President Carter in 1977. It would continue in the roles of a
conventional weapons carrier and cruise missile carrier when
Soviet air defenses become too sophisticated for successful
penetration with current technology, which is _expected to be in
the 1990s.
The Carter .-tdministration's neW CX transport got only $20
railiion of the 581.2 MII!!Cril Of IgIfIriUy rqrreetnd. PIC SHIJCOrWilit-
tee cut $120 million from MX missile funds, because the money
is not needed in Fiscal 1981. Funding was eliminated for the
precision location strike system ahd the deployment of 50 stored
Minuteman 3 missiles that were to be substituted for Minuteman
2 missiles. The last action may, however, be reversed in confer-
ence with the Sea.ate. The Senate has taken no appropriations
actions on the Fiscal 1931 defense bill.
The subcommittee actions must be approved by the full House
Apprcpriations Committee, then be approved by the House and
go to conference with the Senate. The conference may occur
Avia1;3;) F. Space Tecnnp?Dgy, Aogt:s1 11, 19130
tic missile with improved accuracy and
larger nuclear warheads capable of strik-
inf, Soviet ICBM silos and other hardened
targets.
2 Programs to in-nprove the U. S. stock-
pile or special strateltic nuclear materials
required to produce warheads for the
inventory of weapons needed to Cover the
targets in the USSR.
One top-level Defense Dept. official
said last week tine PD-59 provides only thc
theory for flexible ral'sponse and added that
there is a great deal of skepticism over
whether Carter will develop programs to
carry out the policy in an effective way.
Flexible Response
One I s on for the doubt over the
Administration's sincerity with PD-59 is
based on remarks by President Carter that
all the U.S. really needs to keep the
Soviets at bay is one boatload of Poseidon
submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
?Just one dl Our relatively invulnerable
Poseidon submarines comprising less than
2% of our total nuclear force carries
enough v,arheads to destroy every large
and medium-size city in the Soviet
Union," President Carter said in his Janu-
ary, 1979, State of the Union address.
One official who worked on PD-59 said,
111!?--2,1i
b.-!10
after the November etections if a lame duck session of Congress
is called, as is now expected. The subcommittee approved
funding for these quantities of aircralt and ships:
flt $243 million in research and development and 590 million in
ocurernent for the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B attack aircraft.
2 60 McDonnell Douglas F-18 fighters.,
IT 30 Grumman F-14 fighters.
? 12 Grumman A-GE attack aircraft. . ,
? Six Grumman EA-GB electronic wan fare aircraft.
U 12 Lockheed P-3 antisubmarine warfare. airci-aft.
o Two SSN-688 nuclear-powered Los Angeles class attack
submarines.
2 No funding for recommissioning bf the battleship New
Jersey and the aircraft carrier Oriskany. The subcomrinitee
deadlocked in a 6-6 tie on the New Jersey and did riot consider
the. Oriskany.
t3 42 McDonnell Douglas F-15 fighters, add advanced pro-
curement funding for arl i-!ciditional 42.
? 585 Senor at Di_pirarnics F-16 fir:blurs, and ad ucied pro-
curement funding for an aciciiticnal 180.
" 60 Fairchild Republic A-10 single-seat attack aircraft; $24
million in research and development for a two:seat version.
tr Six Lockheed C-130E transport aircraft. .
? 17 Bell Heli.copfer Textron AH-1S Cobra helicopters.
80 Sikorsky Ai ; croft Litt-GOA Black Hawk helicopters.
2 Four McDonnell Douglas KC-10 transports.
? No fuidi:-Ig for the strategic sr:lc-11;1e system.
$50 mittion for the joint tactical information distribution
system.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
21
11
r? ?
i,t.. ,t a sin:A,
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1 ss. is
elISC C,CLI L?tal yLJIUiU DIU,11)
trild by the \\Mite. House to toss out the
flexible I esonsc concept that was articu-
lated under Schle.sinper. Under prodding
from deputies, 13rown wrote back that it
W2S 2 complicated matter, CVell though his
instincts were to go along. Tic believes that
any limited nuclear weapons excha ngc will
quickly escalate to all-out exchanges."
Under PD-I 8 the Defense Dept. was
ordered by Carter 10 perrform a study of
U. S. stratepie targeting policy. That
study took more than a year to complc.te
.and eventually evolved into PD-59,
- according' to Pcnton officials.
Policy Extension
"PD-59 is really an extension of NSDM
'National Security Dee.s'ion _MernoPan--
durn]-242 'largely- referred to in the 'Press '
.2S Schlesinger's flexible targeting .doc-
trine," accoi ding to one former State
Dept. official.
That study, was started in the c:arly
1970s under then Defense Secretary Mel-
vin R. Laird, and headed by John Foster,
former director of Defense research and
enpineerinp. One State Dept. official who
took part in the study is Seymour Weiss,
former director, Politico-Military Dept.
Another is his deputy, Leon Sloss.
22
?,7,1\ 1, 11,,
policy now in PD-59. lk worked with
Waller B. Slocornbe, principle deputy
assistant secretary of Defense for interna-
tional security affairs, and Andrew W.
Marshall.
"While it is an extension of NSDM-
242," according to one U. S. official,
"IllcY Were fully prePred 10 abandon that
concept if needed. ?
"But it didn't go that way; the more
they looked at it, the more they became
convinced there was a requirement to 20
beyond the limited options in 242.
"The overridinp, issue was and still is do
you rejec.t nuclear war fighting capability
as absurd Or do you try to cope with it,"
the official said. Pre added that there are
three facets to thc strategy in PD-59.
"One is conceptual-can you plan a war
fighting capability. The study concluded
that it can be done even thoup_h we may
not like. it. The second facet is the Admin-
istration believes now that as an initial
step we may have to face this planning as
an option. The next phase is ?vliat do we
need developed?"
In consi.derintz the U. S. nuclear weap-
ons war firliiting capability, the MI:. 12A
reentry vehicle developed for the Minute-
man 3, and for possible use on the MX
.nn fi "1 7 r?
A'
Washington--Housc-Senale conferees have
completed a Defense authorization bill of
$52.8 billion, or $6.9 billion more than
requested by President Carter, that contains
a bomber Carter is not convinced is needed
and funding for a new transport that is far
less than he wanted. rx Six Vaught A-7 attack aircraft for
The conferees authoriz.ed $300 rnillion for $112.6 million.
research and development and $75 million_ g 42 McDonnell Douglas F-15 fighter air-
for procurement for a new multirole bomber craft for $845 million.
that would teke ridvantage of early Rockygpll by Six McDonnell Douglas KC-10 tank-
B-1 bomber lechnologY (Aw&st- Aug. 4, 1:72o: er/cargo aircraft for $298.4 t-nillion.
16). So far, however, the HoUse Appropria- Six Lockheed C-130H cargo aircraft for
tions defense subcommittee has approved $70.8 million.
g $38.1 million for engine spares for the
F-15 and F-16, out of an Administration
request for $253.3 million. Reprograming
will make up part of the shortfall.
g 30 Grumman F-14 fighter aircraft for
$701.6
M 12 Grumman A-6 attack aircraft for
$225.3 million.
? Tv.c.) McDonnell Douglas. C-98 cargo air-
craft for $37 million.
g 50 General Dynamics E-',GM-109 cruise
missiles for $163 rnillion.
g 770 Raytheon Altvl/RiM-7F/M missiles
for $141 million for the Navy.
tri 210 Hughes AIM-54A/C rnissiles for
$148.8 rniWon: .
g 500 General Dynamics RIM-65 missiles
for $120.5 mon. ? _
g 80 Tc..... Instruments /CM-ESA mis-
siles for $100.4 million..
_
ICBM silos. The SS-ISS now poSe a scvcrc
Ihte;:t.t to the Nlimiternan ICBM fields.
The U.S. plans to have 300 Minuteman
3 missiles each equipped with three Mk.
I 2A reentry vehicles carrying nuclear
warheads.There are 248 SS-1S silos opera-
tional in the USSR and 60 more beim'.
prepared.
Those silos arc believed to have a 4,000
psi. hardness. With the 335-1iloton yield
of 'each Mk. 12A W-78 warhead and an
accuracy of approximately 0.08 nut. mi.
the sinc_?:le. shot kill probability ap,ainst the
SS-1S is 0.78. If IWO warhe2CiS ate used
against each SS-1S silo the probability of
kill becomes' 0.95.
Trident 2 Missile
But to have an effective, flcjhic
response option, according to Pcntacon
officials, the U.S. must rapidly move to
the Trident 2 SI .BM, which could
2....,2inst hardened command, control and
communications bunkers and other Soviet
ICBMs such as the SS-I9. There arc 300
of these missiles operational and two ?cr-
sions, including one. with a 4.3-mepaton
V.'Lrhead.
Bombers will havc to be used for second
echelon attacks if flexible response is to
-
r) 414,"
advance procuterne.nt, is $1.7 billion. In oth-
er action, the conference approved:
g $1.55 billion for the MX missile system,
with report language requiring the study of
split basing.
g 180 General Dynamics F-16 fighters.
only $175 miliion for research and develop-
ment. The House subcommittee figure is
expected to stand in' further House action,
but could change during conference with the
Senate, which has yet to take action on
Defense appropriations.
The Air Force CX transport initiated by the
Carter Administration but unsuccessfully
SOid to Capitol Hill cornmittees by the Air
Fe;Ce receiv,d on!), $35 million of the $81.3
million requested. Only $10 million can be
Spent for CX until 90 days aftei? transmittal
to &prioress of a mandated report by the
secretary of Defense on overall mobility
requirements.
Conferees decided on 60 McDonnell
Douglas F-18 fighter aircraft, 12 fewer than
v..hat tt House has approved but far above
the. Carter Adininistration request of 48 air-
craft.. Fu!rding, including long-lead items for
?
?e.
g 88 Sikorsky Aircraft UH-60A Si,
Hawk helicopters for $368.4 million.
re 17 Bell Helicopter Textron AH-1S Col
helicopters for $44.5 million.
g Six Beech C-12D transport aircraft
S9 million.
g $10 million for upgrading and expansi
of U.S. Air Force Minute.man 3 missiles.
III
$139.9 million for Raytheon AIM-7F
missiles for the Air Force.
g $90.1 million for 280 British Aerose ?
Rapier , short-range air defense mrss.,!.?
inciuding eight fire units and four radars,
airfield defense in Britain.
In research rind development the conf-
eras approved an itern,not in contentioa.
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B attack airc,
With $243 million in esearch and des?r--:,
rnent and $90 million in procutemnt,
the House and Senate had agreed ptesiY.1
on the same funding levels, despite tbe LI
/
of a request from the Admintration. .
Other research items approved by
c.onferees for the Air Force inclucie:
i
" Advanced radiation technolocy, S7-1
million. ?
2 Satellite communications syste:
$39.8 million. -
g Enforcer attack :aircraft, ,i6 miilion_
a Ptecision location strike system, $
million. ,
2 Navstar global positioning sate? il'i
$150 mion.
High-energy laser research for the A ii
r
Aviation titpace Technology, August 11, 1.:1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23 : CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1
? 111 OM II ?;117 I?10USC aria .7?,falalC, eSpeClally a Tilt-Rotor Vehicle Reaches New Testing Phase
new bomber to replace the. aging Boeing
13-52 armed with cruise missiles. Ft. Worth --Bell Helicopter Textron XV-15 tilt-r otor? second test air vehicle has
"While the cruise missiles Serve a useful completed its testing here and will be airlifted to National Aeronautics and Space
--,
purpose to overwhelm air defense radars Administration's Dryden Research Center Aug. 13 in a Lockheed C-5A for the next
and- have good accuracy to attack rcla- phases of the NASA/A,rmy/Navy-funded research program.
liCc13' 'soft targets," one senator said, "they The No. 1 XV-15 lest vehicle is at Ames Research Center, where it had been
do not overcome the need for a manned cocooned following full-scale wind tunnel testing.
penetrating bomber like the B-1." The plan is to put both aircraft through brief tie-down testing and checkout and then
Even if the , Ca rt cr Administration go into a flight test program in the fourth quarter of this year, with the No. 2 aircraft
begins to plan for a strategic nuclear probably flying first at Dryden followed by No. 1 at Ames. One XV-15 will be utilized to
vicapons force to handle the new targeting explore the flight envelope; the other will evaluate potential civil and military applica-
policy in the coming months, it will lions of tilt-rotor technology.
encounter major difficulties in the area of NASA plans to hold a workshop at Ames Dec. 2 to brief commercial helicopter
strategic nuclear materials. There is a operators on the XV-15 and the flight test program and to seek input on how the
shortage of the special materials required program could be oriented to include tests and data relevant to civil applications.
to produce nuclear warheads. To date the two XV-15s have acc.umulateid 278 hr. of testing, including a total of 60
Since the 1960s the U. S. committed flight hr., plus approximately 20 hr. of wind tunnel tests. Of this, the No. 2 aircraft
itself not to produce any More oralloy accumulated 126 hr. of tests at Bell Helicopter Textron's research and development
material. center here, including 57 hr. of flight time Total flight time exceeded that initially
The USSR also made the commitment planned by approximately 10 hr.
to stop producing this major special mate- During testing here, the No. 2 X\1 15 achieved a 346-mph. true airspeed in level
nal, but there is no evidence that they ever flight at 16,000 ft., 2g pull-ups and turns up to 60-deg. hank angles.
stopped production, one U. S. nuclear The aircraft have performed more than 100 in-flight propeller-rotor conversions
weapons expert said. from helicopter to aircraft mode and vice versa.
The U. S. has only a limited supply of ._
oralloy or \\ capons grade enriched urani-
um available through 1989 in finished for warheads are in relatively short supply sion," one Energy Dept. official said. "We
\%enpons, in the Energy Dept. stockpile, or in the inventory. could convert the N reactor at :Hanford to
in the production pipeline. One of these special materials is tritium, produce orallc.)y, but it \\ 0111d be costly, or
Other elements or materials required arid it is an expendable material with a we could get plutonium from there. If we
12.6-year half life. The material is in such try and usc plutonium in what we call thin
short supply that U. S. experts said a noth- warheads because of shortages we are
rS37.0 e.7,. ir en reactor to breed the material must be moving close to the edge of not having
started right away. th
"If we never make another nuclear wea- eAllino"t'hoerirc."nuclear weapons laboratory
was funded at the level requested by the pun, we still must have tritium to replace official said that with the projected pro-
carter Administration of $20.58 million, the it in existing, weapons, and the facilities for duction of plutonium and new strategic.
amount approved by the Senate and higher tritium arc worn out. They will be corn- weapons the quantity may be adequate,
than the House figure of $15.58 million. The pletely off line before a new facility can be but that the U. S. may be plutonium lim-
Navy high-energy laser figure was autho- built and operations begun," one high- itcd in what can be deployed.
mired by the conferees at $52.52 million, the level U.S. nuclear weapons expert said. "There is a sufficient amount in the
figure approved by the House arid $20 mil- "Wc need tritium to maintain the weapons stockpile and in the projected supply for
lion higher than that requested by the Carter stockpile, but we also must have plutoni- MX, but after we go through 3\1X, Trident
Administration. The Senate had approved UM if we are to build additional weapons 2 warheads and cruise missile warheads,
$32.52 million. The choice of the higher
without _retiring Ones in the inventory then we arc in a bind," the laboratory
figures is an indication of congressional first," he added. official said. "The U. S: is over a cliff and
interest in the high-energy laser research ' hanging on for a viab1e nuclear warheads
Nuclear Production
program. , . . research and development program arid
Other items approved for the Navy are: The U.S. can produce either plutonium for adequate nuclear weapons testing,"
Pr AIM-PC serniactive radar improvement, or tritium at the three Savannah River -. The official concluded that for the last
$8 million. reactors, but not both simultaneously,. Plu- decade the nuclear weapons design and
LI Light aircraft carrier design, $30 million tonium is produced by a chemical separa- production pi ograms have had an eroding
despite the lack of a funding request from lion using what is called a purcx process. base. "We try and balance belv, cell Oleo-
the Carter Administration. Plutonium a rid I ritium are produCed by ry, design and testing. But bee:: Ile of prior
Items for the Army include: capturing fission neutrons using suitable funding cuts we have lost engineering and
is Terminally guided projectiles, $15.5 mil- blanket :material. physicist teams. For the last three 'years
lion. - The blanket for plutonium- is uranium; Manpower and research and development
Pt Raiiistic missile defense system technoi- for tritiurr.i it is lithium. have been at a conslant. level. However,
ogy, $149.1 million. 'lire Savannah River reactors are almost with inflation that's an unrealistic rip-
Ps High-to-medium air defense develop- 30 years old, and since they eventually will proach. Test resources have been cut, and
ment, no funding, despite a request fr om the be closed for reasons of age, a new source there is no \\ ay to have -an innovative
Carter Administration for $36.2 million. ? must be found. One possibility is to use the nuclear warhead program without inerC3S-
u Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1 moderni- reactor facility at Hanford, Wash., to pro- ing tests." .
7.ntion, no funding despite a request from the duce these special materials. -_-- The nuclear warhead design and pro-
Carter Administrelion for $3.07 million. . . Hanford has riot produced special mate- duction area must become onc of the first
.., Rockwell heliborne Hellfire missile, rials for the military for: years, but the priorities if the U. S. is serious about the
$0.4 million. facility is used to produce breeder reactor new flexible targeting policy and moves to
R Rockwell .fire and forget Hellfire, $14 f Del. . implement it by pi oviding the weapons ?
million. "The failure to produce oralloy-- 'required, one high-level Defense Dept.
enriched U-235---is purely a political deci- official said.
?
Aviatlon %%leek S Space Technology, August 11, 1980 23
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/12/23: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800340042-1