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

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Although aircraft carriers would
be the primary target for most ASM-equipped aircraft,
other hostile surface forces also would be engaged.
Recent information indicates, for example, that a
high priority is assigned to the destruction of US
command and control ships.
The medium bombers that are not
equipped with ASM's are used mainly in the reconnais-
sance role or as aerial tankers, but most of these
aircraft could deliver bombs or torpedoes as a
secondary mission. There has been little torpedo
dropping activity in recent years, but bombing con-
tinues to form part of the training of both TU-16
and TU-22 units. The IL-28 light bombers, based in
the Baltic where their limited range is not a draw-
back, are trained for a variety of reconnaissance
and light strike missions, including some partici-
pation in ASW operations.
The missions of the medium and
light bomber forces include strikes against land
targets such as port facilities, and some bombers
probably would be employed in this role. The ASM
carriers also have a capability for launching mis-
siles against certain land targets, but most ASM's
probably would be used in their intended antishipping
role.
(2) Submarine Forces
The Soviets increased their
out-of-area submarine activity in 1967 but reduced
its overall scope in the first half of 1968. Soviet
response to the Middle East situation disrupted pre-
vious Atlantic patrol patterns and strongly influenced
the numbers of deployed units. (See Figure 8, next
page.)
Out-of-area activity increased
about 20 percent in 1967, with 138 deployments noted,
as contrasted with 116 in 1966. However, patrols in
the first six months of 1968 totaled less than 40,
whereas there had been 90 in the same period in 1967.
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