Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-22
|3Forces Busy
|LayingC|airnsto
|Unbui|t Missiles
BY ELTON C. FAY
Associated Press stan Writer

BY ELTON c. FAY
Associated Press stan Writer
The three armed forces are
busy mailing down their separate
claims for the right to use long
or medium range ballistic mis-
sileS-although the weapons
haven't been made.
The Air Force. Army and Navy
are making their respective
pitches on the basis of who de-
veloped the weapons.
But they do this in the face of
warnings by Defense Secretary
Wilson that success in Develop
ment of a particular missile
won't necessarily determine
which service will use it.
Conflicts Possible
If Mr.. Wilson's suggestion is
to be taken literally, it thus
could be entirely possible that
the Air Force might go ahead
with its intercontinental ballistic
missile development only to
find that the Army, as the ira
ditional artillery organization,
was assigned the role of using
the weapon, Or the Army and
Navy, jointly at work creating
an intermediate range ballistic
missile, might find that the Air
Forces tactical branch had be-
come the user.
Almost a year ago, the Air
Force began preparing its ap-
proach. 1t issued a guided
missile policy" regulation. Among
other things, the document said
that initially. a limited number
of missile organizations would
be formed, equipped and tested
by appropriate combat COM
mands to provide operational
data" This action, said the
policy document, must be started
during the development stage
"even though some uncertain
ties exist at the time"
Air Force Categories
The paper outlined the general
categories Of missiles which the
Air Force uses or expects to use:
1. Strategic missiles Of long
range (an ICBM will have a
5,000-mile reach), carrying nu-
clear warheads, designed for use
against 'pre-assigned targets"
They will be operated chiefly
from permanent installations"
apparently a reference to the
launching sites in the United
States for ICBM's).
2. Tactical missiles, carrying a
variety of warheadS, with a
guidance system, capable of
rapid shifts from one target to
another. ut is to be assumed
this category includes the exist
ing. operational Matador missile,
which has a range of about 600
miles and is, essentially, an I'M
manned jet bomber. Matador
units already are deployed in
Europe.)
3. Air defense missiles of high
speed, capable of locking onto"
and destroying fast moving tar
gets, like jet bombers. I'm this
field, the Air Force has run into
trouble with the Army. 1t pro-
posed to provide its own air
base defenses with the Talos
guided missile, a Navy-developed
weapon, which it would use in
stead of the Army's Nike anti
aircraft guided missile. Con-
greSS has raised objections to the
Air Force proposal)
At Omaha. the Strategic Air
Command, which operates the
heavy and medium bomber force
of manned planes, announced
recently that it is beginning to
plan for strategic missile
squadron. The missiles involved
here presumably would be the
ICBM. the development of which
has been assigned to the Air
Force.
Push Jupiter" Program
However, the Air Force also
has been permitted to go ahead
with development of an inter-
mediate range ballistic missile
a project upon which both the
Army and Navy are engaged in
their Jupiter" program.
Air Force spokesman say that
so far as the Air Force is con-
|cerned, there has been no in
ternal rivalry between the Stra-
tegic Air Command (SAC) and
the Tactical Air Command
(TAC). The spokesman say it is
assumed that when both the
ICBM and the IRBM are ready,
SAC would be the user of the
long range weapon and TAG Of
the IRBM.
Both the Army and Navy are
preparing to move into the bal
listic missile usage field.
The Navy is preparing to con-
vert two ships during the next
three years into vessels designed
for firing the 1,500-mile Jupiter
missile. An admiral told a con-
gressional committee recently