ERGY “ RG | 396 US ATOMIC EN COMMISSION eas! peltedgM Colicction REE SP i nee Sg ~ a WELE!FEW VEN SIGN ukeLY 7 Colonel KennethE Fields Director of Nilitary Application U. 5.- Atomic Energy Comission Washington 25, D. C. od oNAT! -- Yr a“ Destroyed, CD p Zo letee g 81359 CT= (Signature & Ate) Deer Colenel Tieldss - Prom time to time we are evare of a rether thinly veiled criticism to the effect that the rate of progress in atomic weapon research and develop- ment at the Loa Alamos Scientific Laboratory is inadequate to the national nee&. We are obviously not in a position to contest the validity of this criticism other than to invite attention to the somewhat fronic fact that every current weapon development has arisen out of the suggestion (and in many cases, the urging) of this Laboratory. One possible vay, of course, to speed up eventually the rate of weapon research and development is to establish additional laboratory facilities, presumably st come nev site. This is the suggestion, occasionally mde, to set up a "new Los Alamos". We regard this proposal es one which could hardly show much accomplishzent within two to four years, would present serious difficulties of stsffing, would result in consider- able duplication of effort and expenditure, and which would consume 8 rather considerable amount of time enfé effort between the two instelletions in the essential endeavor of keeping in touch vith each other, no matter | how much care was put upon program determination end division of effort. This proposal hes been seriously made in connection with the thernonuclear program. It is dublous if its implementation at this time could €o other than delay the date at which the next significant thermonuclear experiment might be made. However, careful planning might, through the establishment of an appropriate laboratory (or through its attachment to an existing installation) speed up the conversion of an explosive thermo- nuclear experiment to 8 militarily useful ‘weapon. The establishnent of a new laboratory to participate in the development of implosion type weapons seems to be somevhat more questionable in viev of the extensive facilities for explosive fabrication vhich vould be required and the time which it would take to get them and to staff the CLASSIFICATION GANCELLED WITH DELETIONS