A Deadly Recruit

To strengthen Western Europe's defenses, the U.S. last week gave the ground-to-ground guided missile its first major operational assignment. The Air Force announced that two squadrons of Martin B-61 Matadors, jet-propelled pilotless bombers capable of carrying atomic warheads, will be sent to West Germany this year and deployed "for use in NATO defenses." Although Defense Secretary Charles Wilson denied that the move would "in itself" mean a displacement of U.S.

ground troops in Europe, he also made the obvious point that new weapons (such as the Matador) make such reductions possible.

Matador's addition to NATO gives the West at least three possible ways of using the atom against enemy forces advancing in Europe: by 1) conventional piloted aircraft which can deliver A-bombs, 2) the Army's 280-mm. cannon, already in Europe, and 3) the Matador--with its range of several hundred miles and its electronic, ground-controlled brain guiding it to tactical targets by day or by night in any kind of weather.

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