Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-16
NUCLEAR
Continued From Page Al

oOAASAAANSA - oAAA ASS a.
host of smaller nuclear weapons
which have never been tested.
The Armys anti-aircraft Her.
cules, the big artillery" missiles
Corporal, Redstone, Pershing.
Sergeant, Lacrosse, Davy Crock
EFT and Honest john need
testing. So do naval weapons
like the Asroc, Subroc and
AStor underwater rockets and
the anti-aircraft missiles Talos,
Terriers and Tartar.
The Air Force has a new
rocket bomb" (Hound Dog to
test as well as Genie and Fall
con aerial combat missiles.
Reasons for Weapons Tests
Not only do the services want
to see the weapons produce the
predicted results, but they want
at the same time to analyze the
warhead in a search for de-
fectS which would permit the
enemy to counter them.
Also, they want to try to
duplicate some of the Soviet
Weapons-particularly the ad-
vanced models tested last fall
during the long series of Arctic
eXploSion-to see if weaknesses
can be found.
Perhaps not all of the Rus
sian explosions can be dupli-
Gated. Some, according toI
American analysts, used tech
niques not fully understood by
free world scientists.
These explosions particularly
worry military men, because
each new nuclear discovery
opens doors for a variety of
advances in weapons. The Rus
slams have opened some new
doors, and Americans do not
know what they are finding
behind them.
The new American explosions
will be studied closely in order
to learn more about certain
side effects - the electromag-
netic effects, for instance.
Apparently nuclear eXplo-
Sions in the atmosphere set up
strong electrical currents in
an area vastly larger than the
circle of blast and fire destruc-
ton. It is possible that these
currents could disturb the deli
cate electronic equipment with
in our underground ICBMs.
If tests show that this is
true, the possibility would be
raised that many ICBMs could
be put out of action by one
big enemy missile unless spe-
cial shielding was provided.
Other Effects
The electrical effects of high
altitude explosions also need
checking. First experiments
along this line several years
ago indicated that shots above
the atmosphere could create
globe girdling electrical cur
rents that perhaps could dis
rupt wartime radio communi-
cations.
The tests also could make
improved weapons possible. The
Soviet Union made surprising
advances in packing immense
power into nuclear WarheadS
and in reducing fallout. In
fact, analyses of last falls tests
indicate that the Russians may
have Surpass the United
States in some important nu-
clear techniques. The Pentagon
wants to get ahead again.
Also, nuclear experts want to
try some new methods of Great
ing explosions and explore their
implications. The "neutron
bomb" for instance, is actually
a technique rather than a
weapon. On paper it seems pos
sible to create pure fusion, no
fallout explosions of large and
small size. This technique could
be used in an anti-ICBM mis-
sile or could be used for battle
field weapons that could kill
people with minimum of dam
age to property.
Value of the Data
What good will all this in
formation be at a time when
both sides are able to destroy
each others major cities using
old-fashioned atom and hydro
gen bombs?
Pentagon officials give two
answers.
First, any nuclear war fought
nationally would be limited in
many ways; therefore the quail
ity of weapons could be as i'm
portant as numbers and total
explosive power. The side with
the best weapons might gain a
favorable decision in a war in
which huge, mass destruction
weapons were withheld by both
sides for fear of setting off a
contest of reciprocal genocide.
Second, weapons might be
found which could successfully
negate existing explosives. The
neutron technique and the cleo
tromagnetic effects indicate.
for example, that present
ICBMS may some day be EN-
dered ineffective.