Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-18
MISGUIDED MISSILES
Great Debate on Rockets
Breeds Misconceptions

more dispersed and numerous, 1t
will become increasingly difficult
for either side to take out the
others retaliatory power.
Because lcBMs ore not likely ever
to be used. they need not be
built.
Unless they are built-unless the
United States offense keeps ahead
of the constantly improving Soviet
defenSe-the Soviet Union might
be able some day to deal us a
mortal blow before we could re-
taliate. We must build the ICBM,
in other words, to keep it from
being used to maintain the
strength of our retaliatory deter
rent.
There is heat "borrier" confront
ing designers Of the lCBM.
The problem is to avoid melting
and disintegration, the fate of
meteors, when the 1CBM plunges
back through the atmosphere as it
falls from the ionosphere at speeds
upwards of $4,000 miles per hour.
Scientists already see how the heat
problem can be licked. No more
break throughs" are necessary
only trial-and-error engineering (of
a formidable nature, of course) I.
Three of the principal methods by
which the heat problem will be
licked are CD designing heavier
structures; 20 developing harder
materials; 90 designing more eff
cent heat radiators.
The ICBM is the "uItim q t e
weapon"
There is no u IT innate weapon.
Perhaps the answer to the 1CBM
will be the atomic-powered air
plane, which will permit mainte-
nance of a permanent airborne re-
taliatory force - invulnerable to
ICBM attack and available to re-
taliate quickly. The next ultimate
weapon, probably, will be the one
that counters the ICBM.
Buying more B-52s will right the
worsening boIonce in operotionoI
intercontinentoI jet bombers.
Besides planes, we need crews to
fly them and maintain them, bases
off which to operate them. more
electronic and communications
equipment, etc. The impression now
extant, that another SIS billion
worth of B-52s will provide the Air
Force with all it needs, is false.
Out of that SIS billion only a
relatively small part could go for
more B-52s. More hardware alone
is almost never the answer in the
military field, of course. The same
applies to increasing air defense
capabilities.
All America needs is on Air Force
large enough to wipe out the
potential enemy.
This concept is associated with
the idea, first expressed by Air
Force Secretary Donald A. Quarles,
that there is no profit in blowing
q mans brains out twice" that
rather than concentrating on guam
tity-numbers of planes and bombs
the time can come when it is
better to stress quality-getting
through defenses for precision
strikes at the enemy. What is often
overlooked in this appraisal (al-
though not, obviously. by Mr..
Quarles) is the enemy potential for
infiicting losses on our attacking
force. Suppose we had enough air
power to level an enemy "once
only" If an enemy were to destroy
half this force before it could carry
out its assigned mission it would
either take twice as long to level
the enemy-or he might never be
leveled. Another thing to take into
account is that a potential enemy
may match or surpass our quantity
and quality if we become compla-
cent.
Matching the Soviet Union bomber
for bomber and fighter for
fighter is. by definition. vitol.
Rather than match the Soviet
Union bomber for bomber, we must
match--or surpass-the Soviet
Union in the amount of punish
ment we are able to inflict when
provoked. If comparative numbers
are to be cited. it would be more
meaningful to compare our defen-
sive missiles and fighters against
their bombers, keeping in mind that
it is their bombers' performance
which must be outclaSsed by our
fighters and missiles Tin speed,
maneuverability, etc.. Conversely,
our bombers should be matched
against their defensive fighters and
missiles.
NucIeor war will be O short war.
Not even the Air Force claims
this. 1t is likely that the decisive
phase Of q nuclear war will be short.
Then it could drag on, in the
broken back" stage. each side lick
ing its horrendous wounds, striking
feebly at the enemys ruins-or
postponing n settlement for an in