Documents / FOIA release
This is an October 1968 contribution by the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Strategic Research to National Intelligence Estimate 11-14-68 on Soviet and East European general purpose forces. It covers Warsaw Pact war plans for Central Europe, the effects of the Czechoslovak crisis, and the doubling of Soviet forces on the Chinese border since 1965. It also assesses ground, tactical air, naval and coastal defense forces. The text does not mention UFOs or unidentified aerial phenomena.
“Indian Air Force”2 pages
TObP'AF IERET that it has a new weapons system and probably an improved and quieter propulsion system with high speed capability and, most likely, a much improved sonar. In performance, it could be the equal of some US-nuclear-powered attack submarines. We esti- mate the C class probably will be deployed to the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Mediterranean. The Kresta-class missile cruisers and Moskva-class helicopter carriers, with their considerable weapons capabilities for engaging surface, air, and submarine targets, will probably form the nucleus of future Soviet naval task forces operating in remote.areas. These ships probably will be accompanied by Kashin- and converted Kotlin- and Krupnyy-class missile destroyers. The most likely area for deployment of these forces in the near future is the Mediterranean. Our assessment 'that the helicopter carrier has a. primary antisubmarine mission has been materially strengthened by the recent operation of this ship in the Mediterranean. The use of Hormone ASW helicopters with their dipping sonar and the presence of bow sonar, variable-depth sonar, ASW rocket launchers, and a probable ASROC-type launcher aboard the ship tend to establish that ASW is the primary role of the Moskva class. Airborne ASW capabilities are being improved by the deployment of new systems, but the SNAF still lacks the equipment needed for long-range ASW operations. Current programs provide increased support for fleet operations, but SNAF capabilities for defense against the Polaris threat remain ex- tremely limited. The BE-12 Mail amphibian now entering service is a distinct improvement over the BE-6 Madge flying boat in several respects, but it does not offer any increase in combat radius. In theory, both air- craft could conduct ASW operations at distances up to 1,000 nm or so from their bases; in practice, operations rarely take place more than a couple hun- dred miles offshore. The advantage of the BE-12 lies in its higher cruising 'speed (over twice that of the BE-6) and its amphibious capability. The BE-6 - 99 - TOP'SEQRET
Not linked to a story yet.
FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 115 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.