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23 September 1970

MEMORANDUM FOR: Executive Director, National
Photographic Interpretation Center

THROUGH

Director of Strategic Research

Requirement for Missile Search
of China

SUBJECT

1. This memorandum terminates our requirement _
for the Rail Search for MRBM Deployment (C-RR7-84470,
Supl. 1/NPIC 111107EB).

2. While this requirement was in effect, the
only two new missile sites detected in China were
found by other means. In addition, the nature of
the probable training exercises observed at Complex
A of the Shuang-ch'eng-tzu rangehead in June and
July of this year raises the possibility that the
type of MRBM used there might be deployed at con-
siderable distances from rail lines.

3. NPIC's new practice of dividing China
into 26 geographic areas and assigning one PI to
each area to become thoroughly familiar with that
area scems to us to offer much greater assurance
than the rail search that new missile Sites will
be detected in their early stages of deve lopment e_
Under this system, as we understand it, all of
the usable China photography of each mission
will be searched.

4, With the rail search it was relatively
simple to evaluate coverage over a given period
of time in terms of percentage of the total rail
system. It will now be necessary to develop a new
System of reporting. The officers of.NPIC, OBGI,

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and OSR who are directly concerned with the problem
have conferred and believe that a meaningful system
Will not be too difficult to work out. Basically
the reporting would be in terms of the percentage
of all of China which had been searched within a
given period of time. It may be desirable to re-
fine this into China proper and the western pro-
vinces or some similar division.

5. At present we are thinking in terms of
doing an annual China-search report each April or
May, directly following the most favorable period
for overhead photography of China. It may be
desirable to publish also a fall supplement to
include what coverage has been achieved during
the more cloudy, monsoonal half of the year.

6. All recipients of this memorandum are
invited to write or telephone comments to me if
they see serious problems in what is planned or
have suggestions for improvements.

Chief
Asian Communist Forces Division, OSR

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