Plans For Defence Against Missiles

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28435, 15 November 1957, Page 15

Plans For Defence Against Missiles

(Rec. 10 p.m.) OTTAWA. Nov. 13. The Prime Minister (Mr John Diefenbaker) said today in the House of Commons that development of a defence against the intercontinental ballistic missile in co-operation with the United States would be given high priority in Canada’s defence programme. Another co-operative venture of “considerable significance” was the project for development of defensive measures against the missile-carrying submarine. In Washington, General Maxwell Taylor reported that the United States Army is making “encouraging progress” in the development of a weapon capable of knocking down Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles. General Taylor, the United States Army’s Chief of Staff, said: “It is entirely possible to develop an anti-missile defence for the United States at an acceptable cost and in a reasonable time frame.” General Taylor listed the antimissile missile as one of the main requirements for an American stand against what he predicted would be "atomic missile blackmail and rough diplomacy” by a Communist Russia proud of its strides in the missile field. He said that no-one should be surprised if the Soviet Union showed “recurring truculence.” After all, he said, the Russians did not hesitate to embark upon aggression even when they were clearly inferior to the United Slates and the Western Allies in the air-atomic field. “We may well be required to respond to this recurrent toughness in an atmosphere of increased international tensions resulting from the mutual possession of weapons of great destruction,” General Taylor said. “In this event, it would be our turn to show coolness and steadiness in the face of atomic missile bL.ckmail and the rough diplc nacy which we may expect to encounter in our subsequent relations with the U.S.S.R.” Platform Plan An American senator has called on Britain, the Netherlands and Norway to scatter the sea round their coasts with floating or submarine platforms from which to fire nuclear rockets, the American Associated Press reports.

Senator Henry Jackson told a press conference at Paris that

he made the suggestion as chairman of the Military Applications Sub-committee of the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy.

"I mention these three countries because they have a tradition of seamanship and technical ability,” he said, "but it would be practical for France and other European countries which also have such a tradition.”

Senator Jackson said that such platforms would increase the security of Europe because the Soviet would concentrate their attack on the platforms instead of defence installations on land. He said that atomic submarines would make admirable missilefiring platforms, able to move about at will and to escape detection for long periods.