American intelligence sources claim the Soviet Union is perfecting a new naval missile that can hit war ships more than 400 miles away. The Russians recently resumed testing their longest range ship fired missile in far northern waters after a seven month lapse.

Analysts estimate the new missile identified as the SSNX-13 will probably be ready for Soviet naval vessels in about a year. That would increase the threat to an American fleet already vulnerable to missile attack.

A senior US Navy research official has told congress that our most critical threat is presented by the anti- ship missile. The Soviet navy already has at least 5 types of anti-ship missile, but none of them are as far ranging or as sophisticated as the new version which can change direction to follow target ships if they try to escape.