Word: warhead
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...only two months after his inauguration, when he appeared at the Brittany naval base of Ile-Longue to announce plans to build a seventh nuclear submarine by 1990. The addition will enable the French navy's Strategic Ocean Force to keep three subs, each equipped with 16 multiple-warhead M-4 missiles, on high seas patrol at all times...
Those who opposed the move--part of an estimated $180.8-billion military buildup over the next six years--gave a variety of reasons. Some opposed deployment of the MX in any form, while others specifically disagreed with Reagan's method of basing the nuclear warhead-equipped missiles...
Domestic political opposition to the neutron warhead is particularly acute in West Germany, where Chancellor Helmut Schmidt faces a strong disarmament movement within his own Social Democratic Party. The S.P.D. has called upon the government, in which it is the senior coalition partner, to make clear that "these weapons will not be deployed in Europe." Said Deputy Party Chief Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski: "The Reagan Administration is obviously not yet well enough acquainted with the situation in Europe...
...European reaction was unfavorable to the Administration's decision. France, which is not a member of the NATO military organization and is developing its own neutron warhead, gave what amounted to a qualified endorsement of the weapon. Said Charles Hernu, the Defense Minister in the new Socialist government of François Mitterrand: "The neutron bomb must not obscure the reality of the threats posed by the [Soviet] Euromissiles." In West Germany, Franz Josef Strauss, who was the conservative Christian Democratic opponent to Schmidt in last year's election, said that the "dismal situation of defense budgets...
Reagan last week introduced a major new factor into any future arms-control talks: he decided to proceed with construction of the enhanced radiation warhead, commonly known as the neutron bomb. President Carter deferred production of the weapon in 1978 but allowed development of its components. On Friday, the U.S. began informing its NATO allies of his decision and pledging that the weapons will not be deployed in Europe without allied approval. But one Administration official noted: "Of course the Europeans are going to wonder when the other shoe is going to drop." The neutron bomb, which kills humans...