Aerial surveillance suggested that Khrushchev's claims of turning out missiles "like sausages" were exaggerated. However Eisenhower deemed even a superior capability for the United States appropriate only for defense rather than a first, or pre-emptive, strike. After the i960 election of John F. Kennedy, surveillance showed that the United States possessed many more missiles than did the Soviet Union. Still, the Atlas and Titan models were complex, handcrafted, and hand-fueled. Originally the United States military planned a massive retaliation if Soviet missiles attacked. Soon after assuming office Kennedy learned that enough Soviet missiles would survive retaliation to allow for a second strike on the West. Kennedy and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara devised a "flexible response plan" to reserve enough missiles for successive attacks. The Francis E. Warren Air Force Base near Cheyenne, Wyoming, began as a frontier infantry and cavalry post. In 1957 Warren was designated as one of the first missile bases to deploy Atlas missiles. In January 1964 Utah Construction & Mining completed 200 launcher sites. The base currently operates 50 Peacekeeper missiles and 150 Minuteman III missiles.