https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/d101961f65748af9a0de3b73a6e57f3d.pdf d6a0f282aff72a3fc2fdfa5b4b161070 PDF Text Text Document disclosed imHor tfrg firrfcc fo Information Art Document divulgue en veijtu de la Loi sur Tacces a Tinformation or DEPARTMENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS' /, Subject. Date June... 2.6/6?. MIRV WARHEADS 187-Million Contract for 68 Minuteman Vehicles Is Let Without Public Notice By JOHN W. FINNEY .*. .Special to The New York Times , WASHINGTON, June 26 — ^Without any public announcement the Air Force last week ordered the controversial multiple warheads for its Minuteman 3 intercontinental missiles The Air Force awarded an $87-million contract to the General Electric Company for production of 68 missile re-entry vehicles, known as MIRV's, for , multiple independently target'able re-entry vehicles. It will be the fir-st production run in an •Air Force plan to equip 500 Minuteman 3 missiles with multiple warheads. The contract was awarded last Thursday, the same day that President Nixon told a news conference that the Administration was considering the posibility of a moratorium yen MIRV testing as part of an arms control agreement with the Soviet Union. Not Easily Controlled To opponents of an American1 antiballistic, missile system, ^however, the clear implication of the production contract was that the situation was passing (beyond the point where deployment of the multiple warheads could be readily controlled by a moratorium on testing. The award of the contract was disclosed today by Representative William S. Moorhead, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who accused the Pentagon of "will-] jful concealment" about a "crucial development that could es! IARMS CONTP.CLI I ANB QISAPM. | Continued on Page 10, Column 7 Publication ;calate the arms race and endanger hopes for serious arms limitation talks with the Soviet Union." The contract, he noted, was awarded at the very time that 41 Senators were introducing a resolution calling upon the Administration to enter into a mutual moratorium with the Soviet Union on the testing of MIRV warheads. At his news Iconference last week, ' President Nixon described lie resolution, sponsored by Senator Edward W. Brooke, Republican of Massachusetts, as "a very constructive proposal." But the President clearly sug gested that any such morato rium must await the. strategic arms talks,- which are now likely to begin in August. But by that time, Mr. Moorhead noted at a news conference, the United States will already be producing multiple warheads to be placed on operational missiles some time in 1970. Sees Soviet Reaction Calling for an immediate halt to the contract Representative Moorhead said: "The critical issue here is the fact that the Soviet Union, when it hears of this production contract, will naturally feel that our testing has been successful and we are sufficiently [confident of the accuracy and ! reliability of the MIRV to enter into a contract to produce it. "Conservative Soviet military planners then will be forced to counter this multiplication of our offensive nuclear capability with added defensive and offensive forces of their own, and a new' round of the arms race, will be on." Mr. Moorhead acknowledged 'that the Air Force had Concessional authority to proceed ;wito the production contract. Produotion money was included In the defense appropriations bill passed last year under a line item, reading: "Missile procurement — Air Force." But one of Representative Moorhead's complaints was that "most members of Congress," including some members of the Appropriations and Armed |Services Committees, were unaware that they were voting jmoney for production of the jmultiple warheads. In the "three military budget analyses pro vided to the House defense ap propriations subcommittee, he .said, the Pentagon never identified planned MIRV production. Nor, he said, from a study of :he hearings, the-subcommittee •eport and the appropriations ict was it "at all clear" that 'unds were appropriated for >roduction of the multiple waread. The.Jew_York._T [ Calls It 'Inexcusable' I In light of the debate going fcn in Congress over continuation of MIRV testing, he termed (It "inexcusable that the Penta gon did not adequately inform the Congress" that it was going to award the contract. "On an issue of such grave national consequence," he said "the Pentagon owes it to the American people to adequately inform its elected representatives when it takes a step of such monumental proportions." Mr. Moorhead, a member of a subcommittee of the Joint Economic Committee that has been investigating defense spending, said he had learned of the contract award after "we heard a rumor and traced it down." According •, to information! supplied to him by the Pentagon, an $86.8-million "letter contract" to produce 68 Mark 12 re-entry vehicles for the Minuteman 3 was given to Gen eral Electric on July 10, 1968. At that time, the Defense De partment issued a press release announcing on the matter. A letter contract represents a statement of intent, which then has to be incorporated in a formal contract. Under the letter contract, G.E. was per mitted to spend $33.9-million to tool up its production line and purchase long-lead time items but not to go into actual production. Negotiated In Spring The formal contract, accord ing to information supplied to I Mr. Moorhead, was negotiated (in April and May and awarded last Thursday. The granting of the formal contract constituted, in effect, a go-ahead for pro duction. • Through press releases, the Defense Department normally mnounces the award of major :ontracts. The Defense Departnent public information office iad no immediate comment on whether it had taken any steps to publicize the award of the MIRV contract. No mention of the contract award was made in The Commerce Business Daily for the last,fiiy.e£!ays,.a Commerce Department .publication that lists all 'Unclassified , Government contracts exceeding $25,000. The Mark 12 re-entry vehicle will contain three independently targetable warheads, each with the power of nearly one megaton (equivalent to one million tons of TNT. General Electric will be responsible primarily for making the so-called "Bus" that will carry the warheads and;hen release them toward their| separate targets. ^ m 000127 � Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDBM00278 Title A name given to the resource Transcript from NYT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 6/26/1969 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived RG25-A-3-c, file 27-11-7, "DEFENCE - CONVENTIONAL AND NUCLEAR ARMAMENTS - ANTI - BALLISTIC MISSILES (ABM) = DEFENSE - ARMEMENTS DE TYPE CLASSIQUE ET NUCLEAIRE - ENGINS ANTIMISSILES (ABM)," vol. 10357, part 6, Library and Archives Canada, (LAC). Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource External Affairs Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Canadian Crown Subject The topic of the resource Anti-ballistic missiles Description An account of the resource Air Force Orders MIRV Warheads Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Canada Declassified Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource en