Soviet Warheads Data Incomplete, U.S. Feels : Kremlin Says It Will Destroy 6 Times More Than Washington, but No Breakdown Is Offered

U.S. negotiators at the Geneva arms control talks have been told that the Soviet Union will eliminate more than 2,900 missile warheads, or almost six times the U.S. warhead total of about 500, under terms of the accord to ban ground-launched medium-range nuclear missiles. The treaty is expected to be signed at the U.S.-Soviet summit meeting here starting Dec. 7.

This was considerably higher than the 4-1 ratio that the United States had expected on the basis of spy satellite and other intelligence data on deployed missiles, U.S. officials said Friday.

The total provided by the Soviets apparently includes spares for the larger weapons and reloads for the smaller ones, and it may also cover obsolete missiles that have been removed from service and stored rather than destroyed.

Administration officials initially welcomed the Soviet information. But now they are complaining that the Soviets have failed to break down the total by missile type--four Soviet missiles are involved--and by location.

Efforts Stymied

Without the more detailed data, they said, efforts to agree on measures to verify compliance with the missile ban remain stymied as the deadline for completing the agreement approaches. The agenda for the summit between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev calls for a treaty signing ceremony on Dec. 9.

The U.S. demand for more detailed data on the Soviet missiles is one of more than two dozen points of disagreement that must be resolved before the treaty can be completed. A senior U.S. official counted 29 such points; a senior Soviet official reportedly estimated 36.

Most of these points deal with verification and are largely technical. But several are concerned with Soviet political demands, including one that would give Soviet inspectors the right to search for U.S. missiles at four NATO nations where they are now deployed.

The four North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies--Britain, West Germany, Italy and Belgium--are willing to allow Soviet inspectors to visit U.S.-owned or U.S.-operated facilities in their countries, even when the American facilities are within their own military bases.

Barred Elsewhere

But they refuse to allow Soviet inspectors anywhere else on their bases, U.S. and foreign diplomats said, despite Soviet concerns that U.S. weapons might be transferred clandestinely to the allies.

Another Soviet political demand is for a clause that would promise follow-on negotiations to reduce nuclear weapons of even shorter range. Medium-range missiles have ranges of 300 to 3,000 miles.

But Administration officials flatly rule that out, fearing that such negotiations would move irresistibly toward eliminating all nuclear weapons from Europe. That would leave the Soviets with overwhelming conventional force superiority in Europe.

U.S. demands, although primarily technical, also include one with political overtones. It calls for U.S. inspectors to visit Soviet facilities connected with the SS-25 intercontinental-range missile. Even though that missile is not covered by the prospective treaty, its first stage is essentially the same as the SS-20 medium-range missile, which will be outlawed by the treaty.

The Soviets argue that the three-stage SS-25 missile can be distinguished from the single-stage SS-20 by spy satellites without on-site inspections. Moreover, they say, it would make little sense to build and hide the smaller missiles in place of the bigger ones.

A senior State Department official said the issue is sensitive because the Senate, which will have to ratify the treaty, will demand assurances that its verification measures are credible.

“The conservatives will want to be sure the Soviets won’t be secretly producing SS-20s in those SS-25 plants and hiding them, waiting to jerk them out and fire them at us,” he said.

Sea-Launched Cruises

The Soviets, as if countering the U.S. demand on SS-25s, have called for the right to inspect production lines for U.S. sea-launched cruise missiles, which are essentially the same as ground-launched cruise missiles and have been produced at the same plants. The naval missile will not be covered by the treaty, but the ground-launched type will be prohibited.

Until now, the Soviets were credited with 441 SS-20 missiles deployed, each with three warheads, for a warhead total of 1,323. In addition, they had about 110 single-warhead SS-4s, an obsolete missile that they had been dismantling, plus about 140 launchers for two kinds of shorter-range missiles with one warhead each.

These shorter-range missiles were believed to have at least several reloads, which together with spare missiles of all types led U.S. intelligence to expect at least 2,000 Soviet warheads.

Some U.S. officials speculate that their larger-than-expected warhead count of more than 2,900 may include many SS-4s that have been taken out of service but not destroyed, as well as more reloads and spares than previously expected.