.: 

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n'i-\nlA~J . UU~\ tU 

GAt~Bll 

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TOP SECRET 

ASSISTANt SEQIIAI' OF DEfENSE • 

WASHINOfON. D. C .... 

19 February 1969 

; jIF~Z, 

DEC 

N~~I~;R·RELEASE LASSI Fi ipV:-'C/IART 

DECLASSIFI ON: 1 OCTOBER201 

MEMORANDUM FOR THE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE . . 

SUBJECT: Bud~et l.sues on MOL. HEXAGON and Drones 

The Mayo paper 'r"opens extremely complex issues which were 

addressed by the Director of Central Intelligence, the Director of the 

Bureau of the Budget, the Director of the National Reconnaissance 

Office and the Deputy Secreiary of Defense individually and the ExCom 

collectively in arri~ing at the SiBe of these programs· and their funcllnl( 

in the FY 1970 ~udget. 

By reopening these issues at the interdepartmenta11evel, he bae, 

as a cone • .-nce, reopened the issues within the DoD. As a result, 

you '!'ill be replowinJr the ground that Paul Nitze covered durin'l the laat ~ 

formulation of the bud«et. . 

Accordin.ly, we have summariBed the BoB paper and the previous 

positions of the appropriate element. of DoD on these is sues In the 

attached paper. The comments contained therein were coordinated 

and updated at the staff level with the offic'er cODcerned. 

The current bud~et Is as followa: 

MOL 

HEXAGON 

DRONES (FY 69 -10) 

147-T 

~47-S 

154 

. Tot&:1 Approved Program FY !1:.Z1 

Launchea/Vehicles ~ 

~-"",.i ,,:~/ ....... 

7 (let .. launc.h FY71) {...~ . :! ... .,.,:;.: .•. ~ . :t" D/ .$ A .. () ,: .... 1-

16 (let launch FY 7~) _ .y:*';( 

60 

.342. 

zo 

liL'lJ\SOtl .' 

Copy IO.~ of ..J.L Oopll. 

k.;..-. C- . 

stimated) 

m:-,-o-

· .""/ ._itttachment 

I' DcJaifIil from .. malic 

Iowncnd' ..... 'tell_Inc.-

.' -. ." 

.. HANDLE VIA 

,

=rep.i· "'§bQJ' REt BYEMAN·TA!..~Nr·XEYHOLE..coMJHT· ~ T . .cONTRO~ JY&TiMs'AlWH1I.Y 

/q' () ? ·BYE-'l1890-·o~. ,' ........ '--', -:"~''''-.'.,. , .... ~..-.. ~ .. ,..~." .. .(f~' ifl.P: ·;;.4f;;¥¥ ... ;p·.!iPS9¥. .... ..4L ... *"J!4;JSf;M4, ... ~.Z;.J ... AS 2. ~...,. -~. 
RO APPRQVED FOR RELEASE' ,,". 

UE:\' .. LI'\.~~lrIED BY: C/IART ( . ) 

UE:,",oLM.';;;J~IIiIED ON: 1 OCTOBER 201)'" 

TGP SECRET· .~ • 

BoB prOposes cottiq three m"'o~ program (TAB ItAII): 

. . 

. : t. 

1. MOL: Tumlaate, e • .,.._IQ FY 69 aAd FY 7~ • 

. with total '.~~, Of _ . 

_.,~ ._._ •• I . • .•••• ~ 

~~. 10. aad . . z •. , • • ....... ' 

.~19' --,.'i~i~~····~·(ii"~cO.QNA and GAMBIT. were. . , 

. held to 6 l~Wlc~e·. per' yeu~' theZ'.e woGl4 b. adcJi~al 

aavia._ 01_' , · " 

Drones: aecNce number of 147-T (high altitude) and . ,.' . 147-8 (low altttude) drone. to be procured in FY 69 

.. and FY 10, and terminate contract for 15. (new 

model hi,h altitu-de) drone.. Po.aible a·avin" 81' e 

. _in FY 69 a""_in FY 70. 

DDR.~, ASD(SA),," D~~~-~~'J'CS ·ha~. p'i.Vioualy . . . 

Fovlded material on the .ubj~ct. of tb~ BoB. propo •• w. Thei~ poaltl .. 

are appended .ae TABS; bl'ief .tatement. of all puti •• - ~atIOllal.'ollow • 

• 
:'" 

• NRc) APPROVED FOR RELE:ti; . '.: 

. DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART '. . 

. ... DEClASSIFIED ON: 1 OCTO BE tQP SECRET ' . •••• 

MO~' '. 

. t' 

. , 

, ~ .. ,~ ;;~ " 

r 

.!.!!. (BYE 11700-69) 

MOLl 

••• Ii. ~ .', 

... 

1. OAMBIT-3 i. competitive. 

2~ maIN,! FOvicl.~ hi&hly llbP~rtant iDfo~mation. 

3. Sisill. of U. s ..• n-ate.ie fo~ce. i. couervative, to 

gain an a •• ured de.tructioD, secORd-.trike capability, 

and probably wou.ld not be affected in any s i,nificant 

way by MOL photograpby. . 

4.. Oth .. preci.e information required (radar characteristic., 

·weapon. yield, acc~acy, l'efbl-e rate., operatiOnal . . . . . do~tiobte). c.~ lie ~~O~ded .08ly by. SIOINT~ RADlNT. QI' 

HUMINT. 

'. 

I •. MOL'. hlp eoeu 

z 

K.\Ml)L~ VI.\ .. ..,.u .. ~, ""1 .•••. " ·,-v·.· ...... eo' """.~!!l~~ .11i.P~t. •• ' ~., .... !t ..................... 1 .. ~Jt~ 

CONTROl. SYol1":.:.: .• S ..;\) .. .;.:..;1 ". 

.....Itii..-i~· 'I""tI~. ~tJ:i:·· HS~"'!\"· ~~~:~e:' ~ .. ~r"":~~i;:·~·' "ii~-. ~;i ·~f E~t '1888 - 69 

-- -
I 

NRO APP.ROVED FOR RELEASE .• 

D~CLAS6IFIED BY: C/IART .' 

DE~LASSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBER 2 . '. .. - ~r:;"\ E- '. TOP S ... ~:\ I '. 

DDRlcE 

The value to DoD of MOL very high resolution pbotograpby 

combined ~itb the missioll fiexibility of MOL jU8tifies • 

the .xpeilclitUS'e.of the 7lemainlll, 8tUt"!'UP co.t~ _ 

'and ~.timated follow .. on annual operatins cost. _ 

per launch): 

Very High Resolution (VHR) imag.ery, wben 'combined with 

ealiDeer,ins principles and applicable technology can 

, , 

provide higb confidence answer s to questions up t«:» 

. aeveral year. aOoner on performance andcbaracteristics 

of foreigll weapoDs, syatems, equipment, and facilities. 

The Director, pIA adds that, in addition to technical 

intelligence, VHR a1ao can make a .ubst~ntial ~ontri~ution· 

to tbe development of , strategy and tactica for the employment 

of mUitary forces. ' 

MOL additionally will have uniq\le capability to. photograph 

other satellite., can make a significant contribution to 

policing arma limitationa agreements, and haa 80me 

intelligence coverase potential during cri.is period •• 

3 

. uo\: ~~u~ Vi:. 

BYEMAN-T.J\.L:':'i: •• :.:,!',': :·:-t~ .. c~:..:~;~T 

CONTROL.. S·J~i":..: .• j .. ~i:"".·L"i 

.~. 

. ; 

I· i 

I' 

I 

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• 
........... ~.-71' ••• ' .. o; ........ , .......... ,; ...... ,,... ..... ,•• ;:;r:o~,....,,."'<t., •. )o_ .. ,~ _." •• ' ...... "':0 .'. ~.: .•. ~ . 

• NRO APPROVED FOR'RELEASIj.. , 

DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART ~ 

.;DEC~SS'FIED ON: 1 OCTOBER 2.01~ TOP SECRET 

Terminating the MOL prog,am~ will result in FY 10 

savini' of 

(not". 

and total ~avin •• of 

Tb ... i. an WlmalUlect coniiluration in the MOL prosrami 

: 

. thua GAMBIT does not have a unique advanta,e. " 

GAMBIT - 3 pbotolrapliy does Dot provide a ~ e801utio~ .. , .... .. . . " .. .. ---

cap.ibility verY cl0'~ to MOL pb~tolrapby: the MOL by 

virtue 0' it, much 101ller focalleft.th.~!A~ lai,~· .• per~. 

wIll pr~vide photolraphic ~e.olot1.ou ~p~ oxbDa'tely 

ftAf!~r than GAMBIT-3. 

inIluenciDc U. S. calc"latloa., .. ~ . ~ect. coa.ldel' aUo. 

9itactlcal •. ptem .... tbr·e.t.~ .. ~ . ' •.. ."" : .. .- a..~ . . 

Comm\JllQf·t 1Juont· completely •.• ,,:,~~:,":~tancla .•.... ". '. .... .' . 

. .. ' 

radu· .1pal chv.cteri.~·" .. ': •. ~._~,. :.·.,dd.· .. 1·.·· . .. .' .: ... " . 

. m .0. thea_ .... ~' •• /r~~t~,~ 

s. ........ • ., . .Y:':·.,... X.;8;:;~i;'.:f . . . 
.' ·-----------.r~_~k~ .. ~ ...• kA~."X .. ~:.,~ •• ,~"-. ... ~~Pb~&.£.21~.z.' •• ~ ..• 4~i.6d~ . .w .. __ .3J.t.. U ...... ~t.Q.~-----

~RO APPROVED FOR RELEASE. 

DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART " 

. DECLASSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBER 20-1"2 TOP SECRE1· • 

ASD(SA) . 

questioning of the ~eneflt o.photopaphy compar.ecl. 

to GAMBIT' arapby. A!!.i ••••• bav.la.en 

considered, and DDRIcE. judpnenta and cOllcJasioas, 

, , 

.et forth in the MOL DCP (5 Dec 68), were supported by 

.. the SecZ'etaZ'y of the All' FOJ-ce, the Pr .. lc:hm.t'. Scientific: 

. Advis er " the Director NRO, and ASDfC)t and we. appS'cwed 

by DepSecDel •. 

" 

. " 

A.-ee with . ~oB position .s far a·a it ,oes, bue offer that: 

II .. 

1. VHB. pllotepaphy ••• elopt:neat .hoiJld coadaa. U: a 

f.... ·optlOa·' •. the·N·a~. 

... ..... 
NRO APPROVED FOR RELEA.~E " 

DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART. ) , 

• DECLASSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBER ~~12 :-:1TMetj~t~ .. :. -:,(l~b~(!~f';:. .. ;;.!;~'7":.:...... " .• 11 f.. \l :...V~ ,1.: 

e' 

apace capsule development, common launch system 

and an inte,rated flight schedule. VHR photographic 

· capabilitiea iDtroducedaa developed and as national 

• ecu.l'ity need. dictate. This option w~uld accompUah 

the moat important near earth orbit manned tlight 

objectives and provide more time to 801V'e tJ1e optics 

developmental task. left in MOL. ~ob-1em8 under" . ", 

this option are (1) ag-.cie. ~volved probably' pr·efu ' ' 

'separation, (2) domeatic and foreign political aspeete . -: . .~ ~ 

of 'combined military - nOD~mi1i:~~,. p~,opam,' an. (3)~,· ..... . 

1 clS8 Spa9:e ".ct w~ hev&;: to be amen4ed .~~ 

.;" . 

• ,.J, .... 

.... . :.:. ~ ~ .. " '.' 

. '" ,.'.~., " 

. ',.~;'.: .. :" 

, . 

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... ,. 

HEXACiON 

!.2!!. ,'ta YE ,- 11,700/ A-. 69) ., 

Photoll'apb~c reconn.ai8.ance program iJu:lui_ two . 

. types of systems with overlapping capabilitiea. , 

Surv.illance~ OAMBIT-3 and MOL 

Search: CORONA and HEXAGON.· ." 

Even aft.~ HEXAOON i. operational there will be a need 

.~ 

; , 

·!~=4~<!~~~.: ~$I~ .~~e.ll~~e8_-ea~h. V!u.' ~~of,~~'veil~aJU:~~, . __ . ~ . . 

, z.. .. u ... l!~.::.lrven need tor GAMBIT, doe. HZX'AGON provid'e ',' ~I •• : ~~; 

, ,~. ' 

,', .. ilt:" •• ioRal.e.areh to juetifyadditio_l total coeb? 

. ' 

~.. . ~~. : 

. ' , 

.!\ -:." . 

.. ,' .'. 
" , 

, " 

.~. ':' :: ": '. 

" ~: "; .. :. M 

~o . . j DECLASSIFIED BY: CIIART: ~:{EOE· S"'C9.'E:-

. ' D~CLASSIFIED ON: 1,'OC!OB~R" _ ..J'. ,L., ~J\ .. • 

• 

,'.. .. . 

3. HEXAOON has clear •• t add.~ value a,aiii.t mobile 

4. HEXAOON may not provide an important, AW'l!9ue .. ,. 

capability for unclel'standin,lUaJUlin, levela. 

's. SIGINT and HUMINT provide, complementary Inlo~.tloll 

about Found forc'. tar,ets • 

. . 

6. 'Ther. Is a penalty paid in reaolution by allb.titutioll of 

HEXAOON for .ome of the GAMBIT mi. ,ions • 

Neither mix (HEXAOON/GAMBIT or CORONA/GAMBIT) 

lia. an advanta.e in timeline •• for crlsi. m.a.,ement.' 

, 

HEXAGON', 280-mile •• ath width option i. A' .isnUiCallt .. 

advanta,e (CORONA'. ia 130-mUe), but i. coatly in film 

consumption. ".,,: ...•.. 

For equal AIUlU.l co.t "'HEXAOON and" GAMBIT, 

or 7 CORONA and 8 GAMBIT can be laUnched. The latter 

option more than meet. requirements, although" HEXAGON 

will produce much more area covera,e annually than 

wilt be reduced 8omewhat. 

Page C of. z..,c Da~~s CoPY __ o.' \) copies 
• NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE '. ' . 

DECLASSIFIED BY:,.CIIIIRT : 0 : . : .. " $EeREfJ)ECLASS.iFIED ON: 1, ~t~BER 20UteP .. ~~ -'. . : , .. ' . :~ .'. ,~ 

.. ". 

. :-. 

DNJtO -: 

DNRO doe. Dot jU8tify :requlJ'emenq, since he receives 

. thes. f:rom the USlB (TAB" B fI). These ;equiJ'em8llte . . , were .... lti:rm" by '(J8Qt 1)46. "''1.7 01 " •• b 69. He do· .... ··· 

howevel'. provide coat e.timatea and a." .... m_t. of 

technical performance and p~og:ram ri.t.. '!he·:t~NR6. 

'. 

comptro11v ba~ provided' corrected co.t.f1jhr·". with the 

comment that many coat. in BoB paper' are incorrect. 

~aaed on a 1 March 1969 decia·ioa to terminate HEXAOON' .. 

the followilll nUmbers apply: c/BoB PI 2 • 

ADIlual Total FY 70 FY 1970-74 

Launches eFY 73) ~udget 

ExCom Decision 

HEXAGON 

GAMBIT-3 

. .Alternative 

CORONA 7 

GAMBIT-3 7 

1/ An addition~l savin,s o~accrQes from prior year fU:Jldin,. I 

resultin, in a total of. 

Page c; of ,..~ pages 

Copy of,:r copies 

t./J'JCL& VIA I 

BVl!'ua'N "I'~L~:"" • ·'":IVi .• ",' ':' CO",.,,, ..... ' ...... ,1ftI .. ,,.. •• 111 -"_ ••• "",-1..'" ,,'.1'" . r:OKTftO'- svsr.r,i;j .JQ6NU.V I ... 9. 

\.!J'A ' t:i' ,~is" * ~ o . . 

~ ...... " ~JU.E.!':. ; ... __ ........ "l!/. ....... 8 3 8 .. a9 . 

···.trw:· 
ED BY:C/IART .-" . 

. EC:~SSI~IED ON: 1 oCTOaER 2 .•• =rop-SECRET. . . 

•• 

Th._ diUerence in FY 70 ~ ...... &om,the B~8 fila-e.· t ...... 

to BoB'. ua. of filU'.' relaUlllto a'1 J)eo..,1i_ - 1;.96.8 d.ckloll .~ 

~', , . • ' . . '. :. ~ . . ~. . . .' . I 

to tel"minate.. 1'Ilo~e that: ·th· •. ··.b .. ·.-.u .. ~1"d4,.la.~ •• ~~~.-. :," ':-" 

that._.o~.ata .m·lt ..... -:(GOaoNA.;· k .hoitW .;. 

al.o be noted ,that .• ., .cI.4i~· .... d •• y··JfJI¥~,~ .re-uta _ 

a ne.d·w b\lf ~or •. eOROKA~:~~ith ·i.~y '~"U':ldpw:'tbaa 

potential H1lXAOO', •• ~ ••. ' . ' .. '. . . ~ . • 

'. 

DDl\IEE' (BYE 78418-68) 

1. Callcel HEXAGON, ·u •• leVeIl GAMBIT and aevell 

CORONA pel' year. FY 61-'10, 

FY 69-73. Lo ••• lgaificant benefit. of .. . 

HEXAGON in 1970' a. 

2. Aastere HEXAGON. Three H~AGON and. fO\lr 

GAMBIT p. year. Sav FY 70, .net at l •• t _in FY 68-13.coah. Operatinl coat. 1 ••• 

th .. Option 1, but iDt.llil~ca va1ua m~ch hiahel' • 

.. 

Pqe \. of 1=( cages CoPY. of 1) copies 

10 . MANDL!: V1~ . 

BYEMAN. T".!.l::l:~ r .. :c::ya\;U:: .. CO.',2:1-f( 

.• 

GONTAOI. . aVSTEM3 .lOINTLY 

If a." " .. roc.,. ... -.-. (-"1 f:"'='· :-........... ":1 r' r :0'\ r ,".-.' .. \ :". . 

_.1 Oia ... ~~'-IrPA··~~ ~ W~~J)l·E·'~'l?88a-6a ..... .... .. ...... . 4. II~ 
·NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASIi. 

. DECLASSIFIED By:'C/IART ·~D SESRI:I 

bECLASSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBER IWr: 0 t:T • 

3. PlalUled HEXAOON. Five HEXAOON and five OAMBIT 

p. yeaI'. Co. more pel" yeu in oq,tyeara, . 

DDalr1: I'ecommend. Option 2: . 

Better intelligence than Option 1. 

'Coata 1es. than Option 3. 

Development coat. fo:r major impr~ement. to CORONA. 

WO\lld be roughly theaame a. those remabUn, tor HEXAOON. 

HEXAGON re.olution (2.5 - 4 it) ·markedly more productive 

than CORONA (7 - 10 ft). 

1. DIA, CIA, and NPIC .tudies indicate there i. a 

"breakpoint" in resolution productivity in 3 - 5 ft . . 

range. 

2. More than half of targets covered ~Y CiAMBITeould 

be adequately covered by HEXAGON. 

~~pye I , O~...la£...pages __ of I 1 copies 

• ,~ .... , QIl.4:4.:p •.. au.. p» ,. .l 4 . 44 

11 

• 

HANOL:: VIA. 

BYEMAH-TALSlT_v-:-v •• "'Iw ~ CO!!"NT . .~- II ..... ____ - ,fl. 

CONTROL SY:.iTC:;,iS JOINTLY 

4, o. p;.p.r • ':;::o<l 4 ..• ; S ... ~--.,.,.. 

ff·t;~t; 

~. -t!)~~l:. 

. ....... . f..: 

• 

I 

J' 

t 
NRO ARPROVED FOR RELEASE ta, 

DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART' .' . 

D6CLASSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBER 2012 

e

- o-e~,.r-- T r'. ~, -~F= 

r-:, 

• .. Three major intelligence contributions unique to HEXAGON: 

1. More tho~ough search of Soviet Union/China to detect 

new activity or p'l'ovlde confidence that suspicious' 

activity i. not under way. 

2. Imprpvemtelligence on ground forces ,through better 

.and faatel" understeD ding of force 1"eadiness, logistical . . 

support, and major redeployment. 

.' , -, 3. Enable detection and a •• eaement of cexotaiu mobile 

f01"ces such as ICBM' 8,' IRBM!s, tactical offenaive 

. and delen,ive mi88ile •• 

w. aZ'e unable t~ predict lully 6'0 expected value of radical 

new .y.tems "uch aa HEXAOON: QAlttlSIT, .(o-r° example, 

• I 

provide. inteDigence on poundforc-.:i,.t,a.ttiJb it Wa."Dot .. ", 

originally desilned fO:f that. .~?it."'be able to 

. -' .~ .~.'.' ." :;:.~: "~':'.~.: .... :~:~ '. ~~~:.' 

make such un~ect.d" : .. i~t:aJ1t'f; :~ ..... . . .": ,: 

, ',',:~',:,,', ~,:):': ; 

HDAGON ia~ ita .... ,-~~~~i.d 

de-velOp_":"#"''k,Iu, • -:.' f:.... .' '." ~:'1i."-~~_~"ia~?t._.·~~lak 

' . 

. 
ROAPPROVED FOR RELEASE 

':;;;""L,.j~~~IFlED BY: C/IART '. • 

1I::.~"-_LlLI.FIED ON: 1 OCTOBER 2012 :'. tOP. SEGR~T .• 

.~*7 .• 

r 

. . . 

ASD(SA) 

Pal. eopy-. ......,;;jiI. 

HEXAGON will present more options for mix •• of 

reccmnalss allce systema: 

1. HEXAc;;oN plus MOL may allaw termiaatloa 01 GAMBIT. 

,Z. HEXAOON could c:a:r:ry MOL-DOlUAN.optic_, 'cI«elGprDeat 

would b_ abOve and b.eyolleJ cunellt MOL 

developm~t. . 

" J. HEXAGON can be lJloclUied, 01' more vehicl •• laaach_, . '. 

to keep a vehi~le. al~ 9()~ ~1 the time.. Thi. 

. woulel pOvtde crlai, c:o'9' .... witbia· a w·" ... ".at . "'. . b, •...... 

HEXACON/OAW1.l1T pr .... ··~U .. H·Utll.·ta ...... , . 

co·.t. &~ 'D-...... 1!d'ftft,...~·~ii_.A:/~A.~IT.p·~:· ;'-. . ..,-u » .. ~~ ....... ~ V~~~. ~ _.-..... ..-..,... ....... . .. .. ~.. .... . .... ::.f": I' .-'.'.: .. ,:.'.: ... :.:':' ... : .' ;.:. .. ' ,.'.:':." ., Addiq, ... ~t ..... ,.~.~to'" '. ;.~. .. ", .. ' . . . .' . ~'. .... ':. '~~I' ',::. :~:.,.:'::~:' ~.~., l"'~ . '. :" ... 

. .. . .. _~~,,:.. .... ~ .•. WftW.I1 .. ;#·.,· .. ~ .. '. . . .... ,:. ~ __ ." : ..... 

. pro,I"" ,~.-.... aqIj·""y~~r~ _~~ ..... ~ .' . ..' . . .... ",'. . : . . .. : ...... 
• •••• • ... ~;~:-: or,JI • • _ ... ~: ., ~ • r~T' • 

_.__ .... ,.0.. _ 

...... ~ "-"-~~ ... iI, .. !~ ... f;:;C.!!h!f~ .• ;.;a'''''*~:JIJ.9?¥ik.~~· '~ 

. NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE ',' :~.'''~.-.~ .. -.... --.---------!--.... ---,-,. .... ,. .. ~ ............ ~.~,.. .... -.. • DEC~SSIFIED BY:· C/IART . . ... , ." r 

:DEC~SSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBE •. 12· TOP'SECRET. ' • 

.. 

. : ..... :' .:. :' . . . 

I. Search.. Four HEXAOON will covel' 60 .. 80 million 

• qual' e nautical rnU~. annually: • eV'eIl CO.RON~ co ... 

54-~3 M aq. N. Mi. HEXACON •• al'cb air hi"~ 

. re.olution, bat ,·.era11y, ta~k of .••. Re-bbll for new 

.y.teme would be p .... t'ol"mec1 eqQally well ·by both • 

. . 

2. Surveillance. Commencing July 1969. IOD,_-lIfe . 

(14-18 clay •. ) GAMBIT will pro'ri4e 40 .. 80~ ~r. ·cauum·. 

. '. .. . .act~ per mi •• ion, and can prov.~de.req\llred·.c-ove~a ••. 

'. ~. .' 

with foil!' 01" fiv~ of the lolllel' mia·.ioM. It appea1'.· . .. .... :. 

that .~fteat .urveUlQ.c," m.le.ion cOGld .. be.:perio ....... ,:~;:):} .. > ,:0 . . :.:. ~:': \: .:~~.; .';':' : 

eqaaily well by eltlaer opticm (4 m:xAOON/4 OA~· ~:';' 

be._. the two ...... ~:. __ .w.~eth •. Ir.~,:~ ~": .... /; .. !-'::.: . .. ' '. " "'-"': . 

'. , . 

·ll."._A._)~ .. ' ... :··* .. 

Wk· (wbll •• ·~·ly ~·ep~)·: .. f .. ~:·_· ... ·--'..:.·""'-"~·~ 

dlat. __ :tuk ~ ~~;#~~tIa"~~,,' .' ... ".:r ..• ",~ .. 

.... ; ... : ' 

,'- " ',: 

, 'J:' .' ' .• '~~ ;~~> :: .. :-

.14 

. .... . ' 
"~', ',', ' (t~ r#",1 ~, . . 

-., iI M r 'S rl3 r s nt'MtCtttm' -. Z ' T'ttt:1ITaralil'fil • lei 1I~ ...... ti.IIi"~_I'( .- • ti4N,.;t:.¢., it·, ___ 'IIiIII"** IiIIIIrt ___ .cPll$ I 

4PPROVED FOR RELEASE. '. ' , . lie 

LASSIF1ED BY: C/IART, . : • :: ~" P SE6RrT '. 

L\SSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBER 2012" " . " ., L. T 

( 

... .'.. ' .'-

'. ": 

'0 .•• 

... • r,:- . . ". .. 

GAMBIT missions not needed lor the' current 

surveillance task. 

- Major debate about HEXAGON's effecti".,eaeea tU1'~. on 

"and their movement8. 

1. Impol'tantdur., c~i.i. pa-iods. 

2. . A few l'"!-priority Sovietl Chinea e ,:L-Guud force 

ta:L-iets ,a~. not now covered by 8.f#.:,.ho1"t-We 

GAMBIT mis.ions. 

3. GAMBIT now cover'. 1964 major po •• to". UJ'.ea: & 

lOIS .-mally and ·322 qUaQ.'te:rl,. • 

.'·:4 .. ·, A few_g. pouacl f07!c:e klatal1aUona caDDOt oe ,COV'C~~ 

. v.; Q.Q4B1~··'m 08 ..... 1 .. lfEK'AOON could ~ ...... . '.r"l!.i<"" . 

; :,1tOm •. ~_ ... m_~,JD, ."y, ~~l. cOunt.:~·{altbough 

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NRO .l\P'PROVED FOR R~L~SE' •• TOP SECRET • 

DECLASSIFIED BY: C/IART' r . QECLA~SIFIED ON: 1 O'~~~BER 1012 

Dot clear whether this will be more positive than 

negative in asse.sing manning levels, since HEXACiON 

8ee8 indicators more often than OAMBIT, but Dot as 

. clearly: 

. 6. HEXAGON i8clearly superiQI' to GAMBIT for detecting 

unit movements, ·crisis or ot.herwise, but information 

is not available to decision-makers for several days, 

and cloud eover ean be a problem for a !,atellite. 

Drones are available for crisis reconnaissance. 

Finally," using four HEXAGON and four GAMBIT 

launches annually, there will be only 175 days of 

. coverage versus 230 days of eoverage with 8 even 

CORONA and seven GAMBIT annually. To have a 90'. 

probability that a HEXAGON would be aloft when ~. c.l"iiis . ..,' . '.-: 

began would require seven la~che8 annually. 

HEXAGON might produce coverage of small, mobile 

ICBM's, which CORONA could not. But these could be 

detected by GAMBIT sampling of railroad yards and other 

transportation modes;, a mobile ICBM in any significant· 

1·6 Page l c.. of ~ r pagt!s Copy of I 'l copies 

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DECLASSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBER 20 :Fee. SE6RC1" • . numb._ would req~l'e olle or more lall,e suppOrt ba •••• 

HEXAOON would allow more preclaion about the numb_ . 

of sucb weapona, but this falormatlon would be mar.lIlaUy 

. . valuable to force planner s~ Photop .ph of a mobile 8Y8iem . . 

. would not be Q.eful .ince it could not be tar,e~.d. 

Recommendation. If aavm,. In FY 70 a~e neee8.aI'Y, . ' .' .. HEXAGON's 1970 costa aJl~ ita ~arlinal "tiUty make it 

. a likely candidate for tel"mmation.Cl"ucial U. S.intelll,eDce 

objectives auffel"ing from it._ termination are hard to find. 

The FY 68-74 co.ts are UFY 7C 

savings are IlOt cruct.al, the cone ervative c1eci.ioll would 

be not to tez-mmate, aince HEXAGON may conceivably 

yield tntelUgence whose value we do not yet recopi.e. 

~ .. 

Page " of 'l. £ pages '. 17· 

Copy of, 1 copies , HANDLt: VIA 

8YD!AN. TALENT.rCEYHOLE.COa"iY:Nr 

CONTROL SY3Tiir,,(S .JOINTLY 

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:i;iioNEs 

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.!!!.. (BYE 11699-68) 

• Tel'm •• ,. "e 114 dWOA. al .0011 •• po •• I~I. ~.4 ,av • 

_ 1"ather than burin. the 20 now .cheduled (with . 

delivery of last d%'one in November 1970) • .... 

Buy'lZ 147-T drone. in FY 70 vice.Z4 and .ave_ wbi1~ pJ:'ovicJing full reconnai.sance cover .g. of North Viet 

Nam through FY 10, even if SR-71 flights are sUlpended • 

. , 

Buyina 12 (in.tead of 24 new .chedw.ed) will avoid an 

exce'8ive invento~y if bo.tilitle8 end. 

Buy 120 147-8 drone. in FY 69 vice 186 programmed· and 

90 in FY 70 vice 156 programmed, at a .aving. of 

Thi. wlll provide for .100 percent coverage . . . . 

of NVN if manned tactical recoDnaissance (RF-4'.) i. 

continued, ~n~ 90 percent ·coverage if 'manned reconnaissance' 

i. di8continued, and avoids building an exces.ive inventory. 

18 

PJge C f· of ~(" pages C;op~ .. of, 1 copies 

HAN!»t.£ VIA . 

BYEltJAN.TALENr.I{EY:·1ClE·CO~jINT 

CONTROL SYSTZIAS JOINTLY 
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DECLASSIFIED BY: C/I~RT, 0 

DECLASSIFIED ON: 1'OCY;OBER 2012 . TOP.· <:[cnrr . , v 1\. , • 

(ii'tE 66 79i .:6-8) 

.. --,_ ..... _ ... -------- -_.- ..... 

Secretary of the Air Force: 

147-T: Buy 36 drones in FY 70. 

CUrrent SR-71 sortie rate appears to be maximum 

"a~iftable due weather .... Tb~:retoZ;. impztacUcal'to eXpect .~. -.. 

increase to 110 sorties annually. 

147-8: Buy Z40 drone, in ty 70. 

Provide. least costly means to build a bedge a,ain.t 

10.' of manned tactical reconnaissance south of 190 N, 

and builds inventory during hostilities. . . 

. 

154: Keep program alive; buy 12 drones per year after delivery 

of 20 DOW contracted for. 

Pr'ogram should be kept alive (better camera, better 

survivability, growth potential); continued production for 

.. ' ''''. 

at least Z years is required to giye reasonably flexible 

force level. 

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Sta~~: · (JCSM 728:68) 

147-T: Buy 36 dr' ·.18S in FY 70. 

Weather limits SR~71 sorties to about 68 per year, 

therefore planning on increasing SR-71 sorties over 

c- ";Clge_ I -. of . · -' ~ P HANDL!: V:.\ . i .. opy:. =01_ 1 i:c~gk~ 19 BY.El'tWl-TALEr:I-:<~Y:·1:;L::.COMirIT' CONTRO~ SYSTZi.JiS JOi:"l:'i't. y . 

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NVN to 110 pel' year i. impractical. Therefore only 

feasible option il to plan on curl' ent bi~h altitude drone . 

sortie r~te, with los ••• of 24 per year. 

147-8: Buy 240 dron •• In FY 70. 

Build inventory at rate 01 .even per month during 

hostilities, which provides hedge against loss of malUled . . 

tactical reconnaissance south of 190 N by March 1970. 

Lowel" co.t_~aD Optio~ 3_ which 

provides hed,_ by AUI~t ~969. 

154: Keep program alive. Buy1Z drones per year after ftr.,t 

20 deliver ed. 

Case for or a,ainst continued production 01154 drone 

should not be baaed ollly Oil predicted attrition and 

, . replacement cOlta. An.ly.ta assames that tar,_ covera,. 

from 147-T or 154 il equally satia~actory/useful to photo 

interpreter. This is not valid since 1~ op.tical bar 

camera has twice .a ,ood r •• olu.tion •• 147-T camera. 

Pl"eciae identification (di.eriminatlOb ~ithia taft,_ type 

of kaown typa) aad tu',et ... CriptlOD ,.act ••• and 
...... -.~ .. -----,--..... ...,,- - ... --_ ... ______ .'_ro·-'·-'-'~""".A4. ___ " _' __ ............... , _ • .:..1 ............... "" ... _, ~_. __ ~ •• " ....... _ ••• ••• ..J ••• -.• ~ ... _ ................ . 

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DDR&E 

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dimensions, detai~· .. ,'f l~yout, analysis of components, 

~OD.struction details) each require one-foot resolution~ 

which 15·4 provides and 147-T does not. Growth 

potential of' 154 ia high, adding possibility of improvement 

in survivability. Consideration of above factors make. 

it appear logical to continue production at present rate 

until operational experience is gained and program can . . . . be ~e"'iewed. 

ba:r camera, and needs exam1aation of TAGBOA·RD pzoolram to 

determine whether or not it will be ~ediQ. ac:tua1 o'perations. 

CaDllo·t make valid choices of options until .is data ~eceiv:ed. 

Submits following comments: 

~ " 

. ." . .. 

147-H 1088·es oVeJ':, Cbbta may' au'~."'e':Hell ca.:ed by MIO' 8 •. 

which rats'e. 14' ... T .~ti_ta.etOl'. 'Much ·b·ettel' camera . ~ .. ' . - .. 

in 154 pl"ovidea .100" of.p~·e~i •. ·e ia~tUi~"i"ettuirem_t8 

and 61 ~ of cte8'~:riptiOn t~(ijtr~ .. ,: wAile·14?~·T provid:ee , •. '''1tI..... • " 

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• NRO t\PPROVED FOR RELEASE'· . ." .. ~ , . 

DECI!ASSIFIED BY:' C/IA~T: .' .'.- ~ ~.~ ~, Q L (\ r-, [T p~ClflSSIFIED ON: 1 ~BER~1~ ~ 'li I.. v.::.. 'v j \ .1 ' .• -

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. ' . '" ASD(SA): 

61'. 'and 4" respectively 154 thus much more effective 

and hence more coat- e(feetive. 154 a180 has Ireater 

swath width (45 nm) than does 147-T (25 nm). The 154 

. has areater .rowtb potential, while 147 serie,; ba. b •• it 

modified and Improv.ed to . ita pr aetical limit. . Cost 

figure •• hown _per unit) ~re too lOW~_l.· 

probably better figure, "lving 147 .. T deeide~ edge over 

154 in eost per tarlet covered. ,If it is a.sumed that 

154's will not be replaced, however, 154 system become. 

least costly of all systeins~ If an SR-71 ia shot down, 

a :re,.evaluation of u.e of entire sa-7l.y.tem will be 

, . 

requir'ed~ 

141-T: Buy"'" drone. inFY 70. • • f • 

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BoB.~.~low~:~.~:~ .... Iew •. 

for special ~t.1."", ·:a,,: .• :'.~-=i;:'.lI. I .. ,of.. 

. . 1D-'~.tJl~)a{,~~- . . ...... . 

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NRO APPROVED FOR RELEASE 

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147-8: Buy 156 'drones in FY 69 and FY yO each. .. 

Does not add to inventory already provided by conyersion . 

of 52 147-NC drones. Provides .maller bedge against 

than approved program, but larger than BO.B proposal. 

BoB pro?osall'esult. in zero inventory if 100.,. coverage 

in cquant operations in maintained. 

, . 

154: Terminate program after 20 drones now on order,are 

. deliv • .ea. - Nothbil bas happene~ which should change last year'. 

de~sion to 'di.coatinue 154 production. The drone ia t 

curr~y ,plalUled for use only a,am.t South China. 

. , 

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~If .lii-r-poJ:lce .ttri.tiO.rt -_t1mate8'aie~co~rec~r then 20~ .. ~-.. -'--~-~, . - ...... - . .. ..... -. --.. . . 

dl'~e8 .D;OW progr;rmmed wW provide. 2 1/1. years of 

.. ' 

effort. If Air FQ~'.-."ln._ea are, i.JJ.GOrJ',ect, . then 141-T . . ,! ". ~ • I . • 

droDuue motte <:o.~'etfectiVe.: ~t, •• per' ''1''- would be 

required for South ChiM., The 154 U m_e .a4apta1t1e to 

Ch~ag88 hl. ~iJ!"~ea~"'~ut these 'changes.,arenlt, ... ted 

prior to •• lat. 10,1.~ Il' ch~ ... occur SOOJl_. tUn tile 

~~cI~ UIlit ~~~}. 

':" .,.~.~;" '.' 

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• DECI.ASSIFIED BY: CIIART , 

DECLASSIFIED ON:'1 OCTOBERI2o,2 

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Further investigation is required to ascertain amount of 

coat over-run, size of savinga, and number of drones 

loat through early termination of contract. No recommendation can be made on early termination until these facts 

are known. 

Director, NRO: (BYE 13589-68) 

147-T: Buy 36 drones in FY 70. Rationale is same as Secretary 

of the Air Force. 

147-8: Buy 240 drones in FY 70. Rationale same as Secretary . A 

of the Air Force. 

154: Continuepr.ogr~~ a~ 12 per year after first 20 are' 

delivered. 

It is not sound to use a single point v.alue, assumed valid 

for all time, for drone and aircra~t attrition. Experience 

shows how variable attrition can be. Does not concur 

·that only interceptor capability to be considered is that . 

. encountered in China (essentially MIO-19s). Against 

advanced interceptors 154 could well remain invulnerable • 

. . :", ... :.; \. .. . DY;Zi.~ .. ·";.·"·.· ,; .:. ,._- • -"4 4~ •• "",.·. _.J .•.••. ! 

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N~OJ'PPROVED FOR RELEASE. 

• D~CI,.ASSIFIED BY: C/IART' -:r.n r:; (~ r; t~ ~ :~I ':1---

DECLASSIFIED ON: 1 OCTOBE.12L V:; U ~ IJ 2 t!.. I ~ I" • • .' 

while ,1471s probability of survival could drop to 0.5 

or lower; advanced intercepto'rs are in production in 

f' " 

Soviet Union ant" may be expected to be encountered 

anywhere "I. ..:uits the Soviets. 154'. camera has higher 

resolutiQn and swath width. 154 is less vulnerable to 

SAM attrition. Finally, must consider a plausible range 

of tactical and .,poli,tical si~uation8, not just one fixed 

situation. 

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