Defense: Dented, but Bigger

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When Defense Secretary Robert McNamara vowed last year to make some economy dents in defense-spending, he promised President Kennedy savings of $750 million. Last week Manager McNamara reported that he had exceeded his goal. He had, he said, saved $1.1 billion. Examples of how:

> By shifting more than a million excess Air Force rockets to the Army, which needed them for its attack helicopters, he saved the $41 million that new rockets would have cost.

> By substituting commercially available hydraulic "mules" for the specially designed electronic apparatus used to shut the doors of Minuteman missile silos, he cut the cost per unit from $555,000 to $80,800.

> By opening a contract for new pack radios to competitive bidding, he got the price down from $2,278 to $843.

In reporting on his economies, McNamara understandably put no stress on the fact that the 1964 defense budget, $53.7 billion, is $2.4 billion bigger than the 1963 defense budget.