1 ,500-Mile Missile

In his first formal press conference since becoming U.S. Army Chief of Staff last summer, General Maxwell D. Taylor proclaimed "real progress" in the development of Army guided missiles. His men were already using a missile (developed with the help of the German scientists who worked on the original V-2 rocket) with a range well exceeding 200 miles. In partnership with the Navy, the Army is working on a medium-range missile with a hoped-for effectiveness of 1,500 miles. "These missiles," said Taylor, "will give our forces tremendous destructive firepower ranging far ahead of and above our front lines, deep into the vital sources of strength of our enemy's ground forces.

Taylor fitted the 1,500-mile missile into an overall concept: we seek "to increase the deterrent power of America's military might so as to restrain war in all its forms." At week's end Defense Secretary Charles E. Wilson reported to the Senate Armed Services Committee his service-by-service budget breakdown:

Army: A slight increase in strength to 19 divisions, plus ten regiments and 143 antiaircraft battalions.

Navy: Increase of 21 vessels and new naval air striking power.

Air Force: Increase from 127 to 137 wings, almost all of which will be jet-equipped by the summer of 1957.

Wilson told the Senators that the U.S. must constantly re-examine and re-evaluate its defense posture in the light of scientific advances, e.g., the development of the 1,500-mile missile. He concluded by reaffirming his faith in the "longterm" concept of mobilization, "a stability which is not materially disturbed by every propaganda effort of unfriendly nations or wishful thinking on the part of ourselves or our allies."

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