JCS Chief Sees No Early Role for ‘Star Wars’
WASHINGTON — The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today that he hears much about the “Star Wars†project being deployable now--as if it were “out there in the parking lotâ€--but said a decision on deployment will not be made until at least 1988.
Adm. William J. Crowe, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the first phase of President Reagan’s cherished space-based missile defense probably could not be deployed until at least the mid-1990s.
He told the panel that the Joint Chiefs are looking at “Star Wars,†or the Strategic Defense Initiative, but have “to know a great deal more about the practicality of SDI.â€
Partial System in ’88
The admiral said he believes that any decision on early deployment of a partial system is unlikely this year but might be made in 1988.
Crowe, asked whether the program is imminent, said he considers “Star Wars†“a research program exploring the possibilities of developing SDI†rather than a mature program.
“I hear so much said and written that it’s out there in the parking lot and we don’t know where to put it,†he said.
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