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.
“The Advance”9 pages
TOP BER ET b. Surface Forces -The-S c v et -avy -~hs i-a-&ctie-stat u-s- more than 100 cruisers and destroyers, almost half of which are modern units. About 35 of these units, all equipped with missiles, have been built in the past decade. Construction of ocean-going combatants --the Kresta-class guided-missile cruiser and the Petya-class escort--is being sustained at the pace of the past several years, while the second unit of the Moskva-class helicopter carrier nears completion. No additional helicopter carriers are under construction, but a follow-on class would incorporate changes dic- tated by experience with the Moskva class. (See Table 5, opposite page.) There are indications that two or more Sverdlov-class cruisers may be converted to carry a new long-range SAM system. of the type we believe to be fitted in the Moskva-class ships. In addition, several units of the Kotlin and Krupnyy classes of destroyers are being converted to carry the SA-N-1 SAM system. Production of the Kynda-class guided- missile cruiser (eight surface-to-surface missile launch tubes and one twin SAM launcher) has been terminated and superseded by the Kresta-class guided- missile cruiser (four SSM launch tubes and two twin SAM launchers). The current Krupnyy class conversions involve removal of the SSM launchers and replacement. by a SAM system. The Soviets continue to build other surface ships--escorts, patrol craft, guided-missile patrol boats, minecraft, naval auxiliaries, and amphib- ious ships at about the same rate as in the past years. Several classes of ships such as the Petya escort, and the Poti, the SO-l, and possibly the Stenka patrol craft continue to improve Soviet short-range ASW de- fense. The new Alesha class, introduced into service in 1966, may have an ASW function, such as-placing and retrieving sonobuoys, in addition to its probable role as minelayer. - 84 - TOP SECRET
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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.