Soviets Seek Military Lead: Weinberger : Cites New Nuclear Missiles, Laser Tests Against U.S. Aircraft

The Soviet Union continues to deploy new models of nuclear missiles with an eye toward achieving military superiority while conducting laser experiments against U.S. airplanes, the Pentagon said today.

Russia is also devoting almost three times as much of its gross national product to weapons purchases compared to the United States. And it shows no signs of slowing that buildup, “no matter who is general secretary, no matter what proposals are made, no matter what public relations activities are undertaken,” Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger said.

The Soviet weapons drive also extends to its conventional arsenal, with dozens of new MIG-29 Fulcrum jet fighters along with tanks, artillery pieces and ships having been produced over the last year, the Pentagon said.

This grim assessment of Moscow’s military might was released by Weinberger in the form of the Pentagon’s annual publication, “Soviet Military Power.” Now in its sixth edition, the magazine-size, glossy booklet has become the Reagan Administration’s primary vehicle for releasing information about Soviet force developments and, in turn, buttressing calls for higher Pentagon spending.

‘Dynamic’ Military Threat

“We must realize that we are competing with a dynamic, and an expanding, Soviet military threat,” Weinberger said.

He added: “We do not need to match nor are we trying to match the Soviets weapon for weapon. But we must have an adequate defense program--one that is grounded on a clear understanding of the nature and character of the threats posed to national interests.”

Overall, the booklet concludes that Soviet military expenditures are consuming between 15% and 17% of the Soviet Union’s gross national product. By comparison, Pentagon spending consumes about 6% of America’s GNP.

The report was released hours before Weinberger went to Capitol Hill to push for the Administration’s request for a 3% increase after inflation in the defense budget for the next fiscal year.

Few New Disclosures

The 1987 edition of “Soviet Military Power” contains little in the way of new disclosures. One exception involves continuing Soviet work in the field of laser technology. Without elaborating, the booklet states that “recent Soviet irradiation of Free World-manned surveillance aircraft and ships could have caused serious eye damage to observers.”

Included is a picture of an “electro-optic sensor laser device” aboard a Soviet destroyer that “has been used to irradiate Western patrol aircraft.”

A senior Defense Department official, in discussing that reference, said laser devices had been fired in the Middle East, Afghanistan and “other parts” of the world. While no U.S. personnel have been blinded, there have been reports of individuals from other countries being temporarily blinded by such laser beams, the official said.