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1965DEC 13 30 52

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This soursient contains information effecting the flaconsl security of the United States *Akin the mean. Vie

iota of the espionage lows U. S. Code Title IS, Sections 793 end 794. The law prohibits its wansinis.

mon or the revelation of its contents in say manner to en trownuisotised person, es wolf Its use in any •Sf

manner preludiciel to the safety or interest of this Unitas Stems or fer the be of eny foreign govern. trie

wont to the detriment of the United Stems. It is to be soon only by U. S. porsonnel 'epochally indec. Or, tangled and strtherised to receive inhumation in the designated control channels. Its security must bo

ricintoined in accordance with regulations pertaining to the designated controls. /

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tf:e This document contains information referring to Projects:

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TI* DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTEWGENCE

WASHINGTON 211, D.C.

Dr. Brockway McMillan

Director

National Reconnaissance Office

Washington, D. C.

Dear Brock:

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Your revised proposal of 10 December 1963 for management of the

RO A program raises several questions in my mind. I must go to

Monday and will not be able to give you my views until after the

e year. In the meantime, I consider it essential that no action

be taken within the NRO or its contractor structure which might prejudice

our ability to implement other management approaches, and I therefore

desire that the status quo be maintained until I have further considered

the matter.

In our several recent discussions, I have emphasized to you, for

reasons which I felt were valid, that the resources of both the Central

Intelligence Agency and the Air Force in fields related to aerial photography

-- both aircraft and satellite -- must be preserved. Furthermore, I have

stated that these resources are not only in-house capabilities but also the

unique contractor capabilities which have been developed at the insistence

of CIA by encouragement and close and intimate working relationships.

The same is true of the relationship with consultants, scientists and

academicians. I have been informed by several sources that major contractors no longer feel free to meet with CIA officials and discuss problems

which, through the years have been matters of mutual interest, without

first securing Air Force permission. This extends both to the problems

related to existing programs and to discussions of new concepts.

Any such limitation, whether the result of a directive from a

,-• procurement officer or a subtle hint, would in my opinion violate the basic

tenet of the NRO agreement which provides for the full utilization of the

resources of both the Air Force and CIA. Therefore, I would like you,

during the next week, to make it abundantly clear to your staff, and to

General Greer and his staff, that any instruction or remark which carried

the above policy implications should be corrected forthwith. I, of course,

will take such action with the contractors as is appropriate to insure no

misunderstanding concerning the CIA's continued interest in reconnaissance.

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DRAFT/2 Jan 63

MEMORANDUM FOR The Director of Central Intelligence 41113 As requested in your 13 December memorand 94-83),

I have withheld the CORONA management changes proposed in my

10 December memorandum until you have had an opportunity to consider

this matter further. I look forward to further discussions at your

convenience.

I agree with you that the resources of both the Central Intelligence

Agency and the Air Force in fields related to aerial photography—both

aircraft and satellite--must be preserved. However, as I have pointed

out in our previous discussions, although the Central Intelligence Agency

• did play an important part in the development of the original CORONA

project, 1610111101610.11* the Agency does not now possess an appreciable

number of technical Agency employees who have made and are presently

in a position to continue making constructive contributions to the

management of the CORONA project. I would hope that no one contemplates rebuilding this in-house capability through hiring of personnel from

participating contractors simply to argue for the continuance of divided

project management responsibility.

I agree that contractors who hold CIA contracts for photographic

reconnaissance are important national resources. However, I cannot

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agree that they are CIA resources any more than they are Air Force

resources, since, in the case at issue, both contractors have also

held Air Force satellite reconnaissance contracts for a considerable

period (1959 for Itek, 1958 for Lockheed).

As to your concern that "major contractors no longer feel free

to meet with CIA officials and discuss problems which, through the

years have been matters of mutual interest, without first securing

Air Force permission," I would appreciate specific examples which

prompt this statement. The only instance of which I am aware that

conceivably could be at issue involved a request from the Deputy

Director, Science and Technology to a contractor for a briefing on work

being performed under an Air Force contract. The contractor prepared

the desired briefing but stated that he would give it to appropriate

Air Force officials prior to giving it to the Agency. As far as I am

aware, this is standard procedure for both the CIA and the Air Force; .

some clearance is obtained by all contractors prior to compiling and

releasing to any other Service or Agency specific information pertaining

to their contractual effort. In the case of a briefing on work performed

under an Air Force contract, I can see no objection to the briefing being

given to an Air Force official as a prelude to its presentation to the CIA.

I can assure you of the most complete cooperation in the exchange

of information pertaining to all NRO4016 I am sure that the

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necessary order and discipline can be maintained without impeding

this exchange in any way, and will appreciate specific information if

any problems do arise.

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