U.S. scientists already at work on beating ‘star wars’

Press, 24 December 1985, Page 6

U.S. scientists already at work on beating ‘star wars’

NZPA-Reuter Washington 'American scientists are already searching for ways to beat “star wars” spacebased missile defence systems and say they are sure the Soviet Union is paralleling American efforts. Ronald Reagan, whose strategic defence initiative called for research into a system that could provide a shield against a missile attack, says that such strategic defences could make offensive nuclear war obsolete. But American scientists say that both sides are already seeking ways to beat strategic defences. “Both sides are spending tens of millions of dollars looking ahead to develop defences against the defences,” said John Pike, of the Federation of American Scientists.

“The simple fact is that

... any defences against attacking nuclear missiles are unlikely to get the upper hand permanently — maybe for several years, but not permanently.” Defence analysts say that both sides are working on nuclear ' forces that could thwart “star wars,” including manoeuvrable warheads and lower-flying missiles, American - military officials confirmed that the United States Air Force was investigating several areas, including: • Aerosol sprays to surround attacking nuclear warheads with a cloud that would scatter emissions of radar waves.

• Special warheads for big MX missiles that might home in on and destroy Soviet radars used in . a “star wars” defence.

• Decoys that would imitate the distinctive, smoky wake of nuclear weapons re-entering the atmosphere and draw fire away from actual nuclear warheads. One of- the most secret United States Government projects is the advanced strategic ' missile systems programme at Norton Air Force Base,, in California. Pentagon officials refuse S comment on the work g done there. But Mr Pike and other private experts said that Moscow and Washington were apparently close to perfecting long-range warheads able to manoeuvre as they approached their targets, thus helping them avoid high-speed defensive projectiles. Published reports have said that- both sides are )ookiw£. at possible develop-

ment of space weapons that might use lasers or ramming techniques to knock out space-based defensive lasers and battle stations. Senior Soviet scientists said last week that the Soviet Union had proved that a space defence shield, as planned by the United States, would not work. Systems they were developing to foil it would be cheaper than the original, they said. Roald Sagdeyev, a top space expert, told a Moscow news cnference that Soviet scientists had studied many scenarios of an SD.I.-type defence.

“Even today, several dozen various components of countermeasures exist

These concerned weapons of greater manoeuvrability and faster deployment, but he gave no other detefe. 1

The Soviet Union is believed to be developing Swerful booster engines for eir land-based missiles, which could give them a better chance of evading heat-seeking sensors on de-fensive-weapons because they would burn for a shorter time in lifting warheads off launching pads. Matthew Bunn, a research professor at * the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told “The Christian Science Monitor” recently that cheap decoy warheads were becoming increasingly sophisticated. They could now even tell when they were being scanned by enemy radar and send out confusing counter-signals. “Throughout history, the offence has always caught up with the defence,” Mr Pike said.