Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume IV, National Security Policy

12. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Brzezinski) to President Carter¹

Washington, undated

SUBJECT

• New Technologies

Attached is a memorandum from the Secretary of Defense which summarizes some recent, important technological advances being sponsored by ARPA, the Advanced Research Projects Agency.² Six areas are discussed: space warfare and surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, armored and air vehicles, and C3 (command, control and communications). All six represent very interesting technological advances; however, two—space warfare and air vehicles—represent technologies with truly far-reaching policy planning and force structuring implications:

Space Warfare: ARPA is to demonstrate in 1980 a very high-power laser which could be transported into space and used as an anti-satellite (ASAT) system. Impact: The US has no effective ASAT system at present. ARPA estimates that two of these high-power lasers, mounted in maneuverable satellites, could destroy the entire Soviet satellite population in less than 24 hours. Such a device, in orbit, would apparently not violate the 1967 space treaty which bans placing weapons of mass destruction in space.

Air Vehicles (sensitive): This fall, ARPA plans to fly an advanced design, relatively high performance aircraft which is essentially invisible to all known and projected radar systems and which cannot be tracked by heat-seeking missiles. Impact: Potentially enormous, both tactically and strategically. ARPA envisions using the aircraft in the battlefield area either to “roll back” enemy surface-to-air missile (SAM) launch systems or to act as “spotter” aircraft to direct fire against ground targets. Other possible applications might be in development of a new generation of “spy” aircraft or, more importantly, in substantially improving cruise missile penetrability against highly defended targets. This latter application could, for example, have a substantial bearing on future decisions regarding the B–1. (We are seeking additional, detailed technical data and will report our findings shortly.)

1. Source: Carter Library, Donated Material, Papers of Walter F. Mondale, Box 232, David Aaron Files, Stealth Program, 4/11/1977–10/10/1980. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for information. Printed from an uninitialed copy. Stebbins and Utgoff sent the memorandum to Brzezinski for his signature under cover of an April 11 memorandum. (Ibid.)
2. Attached but not printed is an April 1 memorandum to Carter from Brown, under which he forwarded a March 7 memorandum from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency on “Some Current Technological Initiatives and their Related Mission Opportunities for the 1980s.”