SUPERIORITY OF U.S. MISSILES

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31082, 10 June 1966, Page 11

SUPERIORITY OF U.S. MISSILES

(N Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) WASHINGTON, June 9. Russia now has close to 400 intercontinental and submarine-launch-ed ballistic missiles compared with 1480 in America’s land and sea-based arsenal United States officials have disclosed. They provided fresh details to show the extent of America's superiority in the premier weapons of the nuclear age, in spite of a modest increase in Soviet missile power over the last year. The most recent official

; statement, on May 24, said ‘only that there had been “an 'expected modest increase” in Russian inter-continental baljlistic missiles but that the United States superiority re- ! mained three or four to one. Two Versions United Press International was told that relatively few of the Soviet 1.C.8.M.s are concealed and protected underground. Most stand on vulnerable, above-ground launchers. Now that the older Atlas and Titan I missiles have been dismantled, all America’s I.C.B.M.s—two versions of the Minuteman and the Titan ll—are buried in under-

ground silos where they are considered immune against all but direct nuclear hits,

and thus a firm deterrent to attack. On the controversial question of defence against ballistic missiles United Press International was informed that American intelligence experts are deeply divided in their appraisal of Soviet progress in this area. Some authorities believe the Russians have deployed an operational anti-ballistic missile system to defend cities and other targets. But equally competent judges disagree. There also is a running dispute about the likely effectiveness of the A.B.M. system that Moscow admittedly has been developing. The United States is con-

tinuing large expenditures on development of its Nike-X A.B.M. system, but will reach

no decision for six months to a year on whether to produce and deploy it. Top defence officials are not convinced of its value against a massive Soviet attack and they believe they have considerable time before deciding whether it will be needed to answer any future Chinese 1.C.8.M. threat. Meanwhile, America’s numerical superiority in ballistic missiles—those that can survive an attack and then destroy an attacker —makes a deliberate nuclear assault on America and its allies an unlikely prospect. But it is a prospect that can not be ruled out, and that keeps the question of a future anti-missile ballistic missile defence very much alive.