Reagan views 'star wars’ space plan

Press, 21 October 1983, Page 6

Reagan views 'star wars’ space plan

NZPA-Reuter Washington President Ronald Reagan is considering a Pentagon recommendation to develop a costly “star wars” space defence system for knocking out incoming enemy missiles, said American officials yesterday. They said that the multi-billion-dollar plan, backed by the Defence Secretary, Mr Caspar Weinberger, called for lasers and other space-based weapons to intercept and destroy missiles at various stages between launch and re-entry into the atmosphere. The Pentagon and the White House would not discuss the recommendations publicly, saying only that a new space defence plan sent by the Pentagon and based on Mr Reagan’s own “star wars” speech last March 23 was under consideration.

In his address, Mr Reagan called for a big research programme to find ways of destroying enemy missiles in space or as they entered the atmosphere by use of lasers and other exotic means.

The officials put the cost of the programme, recom-

mended by Mr Weinberger and two committees dealing with the scientific and political implications of a space-based defence, at between ?USIB billion and SUS 27 billion over five years.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, said the programme could go into effect by the year 2000, depending upon the level of spending Mr Reagan ap-

proved in his budget for 1985, now being written. Some details of the programme emerged recently in the authoritative magazine “Aviation Week and Space Technology,” which said the recommendations argued that the new defence would strengthen American arms control negotiating positions. However, some other officials questioned whether the programme was compatible with the 1972 United ' States-Soviet anti-ballistic missile treaty, which prohibits anti-missile defences, specifically mentioning space-based systems. The White House spokesman, Larry Speakes, said he thought extensive research into space defences could be undertaken without violating the treaty. He said that the United States would like a broader agreement with the Soviet Union covering deployment of defensive weapons as a better method of ensuring mutual security. Critics of the “star wars” defence idea have questioned whether a foolproof system could be developed.