OSR Contribution to NIE 11-14-68, Soviet and East European General Purpose Forces, CIA/DI/OSR, October 1968.

TOP'QERET
6. Current Production Programs
The modernization programs initiated in
e early 1960 s TwhiIch7aveleenined--e present
composition of Front aviation, are in the final stages.
Deliveries of high-performance aircraft to fighter,
ground attack, and light bomber regiments during the
past year were at the lowest level since 1961. The
YAK-28 Brewer light bomber was phased out of produc-
tion by mid-1966, and deployment of this aircraft
has remained unchanged for nearly two years.
The requirement for MIG-21 Fishbed fighters
in Front aviation has been nearly fulfilled. The Fish-
bed H reconnaissance fighter represents the final phase
in the production of MIG-21 fighters for Front aviation,
and the aircraft is phasing out of production.
Evidence concerning the status of the SU-7
Fitter program is conflicting. Activity at the pro-
duction facility, Komsomol'sk Airframe Plant.126, in-
dicates that over 400 of these fighter-bombers have
been produced in the past two and a half years. Dur-
ing this same period, however, deliveries to opera-
tional units have been low--only about 75 aircraft.
The SU-7 is deployed only with about half of the ground
attack regiments.
The majority of new SU-7 aircraft traced
to a final destination have been exported, both to
Eastern European air forces and outside the Warsaw
Pact area. Present export commitments will absorb
most of the 1968 output. Since the SU-7 is produced
at only one facility, it is unlikely that the Soviets
would have committed as much of the current production
for export if they intended to retain many of the new
aircraft for their own forces.
7. Future Trends
a. Mid-1968 Through Mid-1970
The near-completion of current pro-
grams marks the beginning of a new transitional phase
for Soviet tactical aviation. Little change is ex-
pected in the composition and capabilities of the
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