Word: icbms
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Addis Attaché. Proxmire's case is strongest when most specific. Among other examples, he cites a $4 billion cost overrun for the Minuteman II ICBM; a quadrupling of the original estimated price for the nuclear carrier Nimitz; hundreds of millions misspent on the bug-infested Sheridan and MBT-70 tanks; the $2 billion jump-to more than $5 billion-in the cost of C-5A Galaxy cargo planes...
China's scientific community is also recovering from the dislocations of the Cultural Revolution. In the wake of China's first satellite launching, experts concluded that Peking may be closer to the iCBM stage than anybody had suspected. Pentagon officials estimate that the Chinese may well be able to test an intercontinental missile within a few months...
...launching two weeks ago only confirmed Western estimates of China's approaching capability to build and use ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles). The Defense Department had previously speculated that China would have 80 to 100 IRBMs (intermediate range missiles) by the mid-1970s; the first ones, with a range of 1,000 miles, were expected to be deployed some time this year. Studying data about the satellite, some Western scientists believe that it was lofted into orbit by a booster, probably equivalent to the U.S.'s Scout or Redstone rocket. Such a system would also provide enough power...
...announcement caused little surprise in the West. U.S. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird told Congress in February that the Chinese would "attempt to test-launch their first ICBM or space booster in the near future." The Pentagon added last week that the launching "obviously reflects the significant technological progress which is being made in that country." More precisely, it appeared to demonstrate that the Chinese were advancing toward an important goal: the building of missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads to U.S. and European targets as early as 1973. The news might well affect U.S. Congressional action on a proposed expansion...