Documents / FOIA release
This is Volume II of National Intelligence Estimate 11-14-79, Warsaw Pact Forces Opposite NATO, issued by the Director of Central Intelligence and dated January 1979. The National Foreign Intelligence Board concurred with it. It was the first comprehensive estimate of Pact forces facing NATO since 1971. It covers Pact doctrine, the ground, air, naval, nuclear and chemical forces, command and control, and campaign plans for war in Europe. It judges that Central Europe would be the decisive arena, and it lists Pact weaknesses in pilot training and antisubmarine warfare. The document contains no UFO material.
“The Advance”37 pages
wartime strength. In light of this evidence we estimate Increase in Warsaw Pact Figure 11-9 the other Soviet air divisions in Central Europe are Helicopters Opposite NATO, similarly manned. We have good evidence on person- 1969 and 1979 nel strengths for only one NSWP air force. This 1969 evidence indicates that the total force is manned at 60 percent of wartime strength and combat air units at 70 3,000 percent. We estimate that the other NSWP air forces are also manned below their intended wartime strengths. We have no good evidence, however, on the 2,000 extent of this undernanning. Pact air units could initiate combat operations utilizing existing peacetime strengths; however, mobilization of additional person- 1,000 nel would be required before the Pact could conduct a combat Helicopters i sustained large-scale air offensive. Support Helicopters ' 62. Helicopter Forces. Warsaw Pact helicopter 0 1969 1979 forces have two primary missions: combat and combat support. Combat helicopters include those assigned to units responsible for attacking ground targets or trans- porting assault troops. Opposite NATO the Pact has 577627 1-79 CiA assigned some 1,700 combat helicopters to this mission. (See table 1I-5.) Of these, about 300 helicopters have as their primary mission the attack of. ground targets; and the remaining 1,400 helicopters have a primary mis_ vary in size from 50 to more than 100 helicopters. sion of transporting assault forces. An additional 900 NSWP helicopter regiments generally are smaller than helicopters are assigned to Pact units opposite NATO Soviet regiments. If used to transport troops, each for various combat support roles including rescue, Soviet ground attack helicopter regiment probably communications, relay, airborne command posts, artil- could lift simultaneously one or two reinforced motor- lery spotting, electronic warfare, and liaison. A signifi- ized rifle battalions without their vehicles. Soviet cant development in recent years has been the intro- assault transport regiments using only MI-8 Hip heli- duction of heavily armed helicopters. Figure 11-9 copters could conduct the simultaneous lift of two to shows the increase in the number of Pact helicopters three reinforced motorized rifle battalions without opposite NATO since the early 1970s. their vehicles. Using both Hip and MI-6 Hook helicop- ters, these assault transport regiments could lift a force 63. Soviet combat helicopters (ground attack and of the same size along with heavier equipment and assault transport) are organized into regiments which light armored vehicles. The largest ground force unit transported by helicopters would probably be of regi- Table II-5 mental size. Warsaw Pact Helicopters Opposite NATO * 64. Base Structure. The Warsaw Pact has an ex- January 1979 tensive airfield network from which to launch and In Eastern Europe In the sustain military air operations. In the USSR west of the Primary Mission Soviet NSWP USSR Total Urals there are some 230 active military airfields; the Comba Hlcte ______ _- Soviets also operate 40 military airfields in the NSWP Ground Attack 175 25 110 310 countries. Eighty-four airfields operated by the NSWP Assault Transport 275 555 555 1,385 air forces complement the Soviet base structure. There Total Combat 450 580 665 1,695 are hundreds of other airfields-civil, factory flyaway, Support Helicopters 370 125 425 920 and unoccupied (including dispersal) fields, highway ----- ---- - strips, and fields with temporary surfaces-which Grand Total 820 705 1,090 2,615 could be used by military aircraft. * See footnote to table II-i, following paragraph 3. See table B-3 in annex 13for a detailed order of battle of Pact helicopter forces opposite NATO. construction of at least 11 new military airfields, StE -- started construction of at least nine others, and signifi- 11-18 T~irSe.et
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 201 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.