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Fourth, the program modernizes the land-based missile force by developing the MX missile, which can carry ten warheads, and by initially deploying at least 100 of these missiles in Titan and Minuteman silos "that will be reconstructed for much greater hardness to nuclear effects." Research and development will be pursued on three "promising, long-term, basing options for MX" with a selection of "one or more" by 1984: continuous Air-borne Patrol Aircraft; Ballistic Missile Defense of silos; Deep Underground Basing. In my opinion, none of these is satisfactory: the aircraft, because it patrols over the ocean would...

Author: By Richard L. Garwin, | Title: Reagan's Strategic Plan: Right on the MX, Wrong on the B-1 | 12/11/1981 | See Source »

Missing from Reagan's recommendations on improving land-based forces is an effective low-cost ballistic missile defense of the 1000 Miniteman silos, a much easier job than defending 100 high-value MX silos. This defense against Soviet warheads can be achieved by the use of buried nuclear explosives to throw up debris that destroys incoming warheads, by the "SWARMJET" system of launching a shotgun blast of 10,000 small unguided raockets at each warhead as it approaches the target silo. Perhaps now that the deceptive basing scheme is out of the way, real effort can be applied to analyze...

Author: By Richard L. Garwin, | Title: Reagan's Strategic Plan: Right on the MX, Wrong on the B-1 | 12/11/1981 | See Source »

...deterent, i.e., a breakthrough in anti-submarine warfare or a breakthrough that would imperil the survival of our strategic aircraft. His proposal to develop both the MX and the Trident-II missile calls for further analysis, however, since the Trident-II could just as well be deployed in Minuteman silos, or in any of the other MX basing modes thus far considered. Furthermore, the President's proposal to harden existing silos fails to address the problem of land-based IBCM vulnerability because it is impossible where they are threatened by a modest improvement in Soviet accuracy. A 30 per cent...

Author: By Richard L. Garwin, | Title: Reagan's Strategic Plan: Right on the MX, Wrong on the B-1 | 12/11/1981 | See Source »

...superior would each turn two keys, one to open a box containing codes that would tell them whether higher orders to fire the doomsday weapon were valid, the other to trigger the missile's flight. Standing 24-hr, watches about twice a week in a silo 65 ft. below the Kansas crop lands, the officer led a life of unrelieved tedium. One day he thought of something else...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Titan Turnkey | 6/15/1981 | See Source »

...space suits, the two men ride up the giant service tower, pause for a last briefing and with a chipper, thumbs-up wave climb into their spacecraft. The ship's three main engines roar to life, gulping supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen out of the huge silo-shaped fuel tank As the engines throttle to 90% of full power the spacecraft and tank bend ever so slightly. When they snap back, two solid-fuel rockets strapped to the silo's sides are ignited. Belching flame and smoke, the entire 18-story-high "stack "-spacecraft fuel tank...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Science: On The Pad, Ready and Counting | 4/13/1981 | See Source »

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