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Warsaw Pact Forces opposite NATO, NIE 11-14-79, Volume II, the Estimate, CIA/NFAC, 31 January 1979

Central Intelligence Agency · 201 pages · text from the file's own layer

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.

  • p. 114 …recently halted Soviet air operations from Conakry. These developments will obviously force the 257. Many officers…
  • p. 115 …order to keep other in establishing effective air cover over supporting lines units operational. of communication…
  • p. 185 …The Soviets could elect to provide combat forces scale commitment of manpower and materiel which to…
  • p. 187 …This force is occasionally aug- forces could not be safely transported by sea or air to…
  • p. 188 …a war, but they couldsome naval and air force weapons (including a few recently introduced Flogger…
TopSert
ions task forces would be accomplished primarily by areas of NATO air superiority. A pair of radar satel-
land-based electronic surveillance of the task force's lites could, under optimum conditions, provide cover-
high-frequency radio transmissions supported by satel- age of 60 to 80 percent of the likely carrier and
lites for electronic intercept and radar reconnaissance. amphibious task force transit lanes in the Atlantic in a
This type of surveillance would be supplemented by clay, but another four days would be needed to
aircraft, submarine, and surface ship reconnaissance provide full coverage. Soviet capabilities to estimate
for both detection and positive identification. the disposition of NATO surface forces could be
progressively degraded by the use of deception tech-
116. The major weakness of the Soviet ocean sur- niques against radar satellites, combined with
veillance system is its heavy reliance on electronic EMCON.
emissions from potential targets. When NATO forces 117. The Soviets have some 43 antiship cruise mis-
implement emission control (EMCON) conditions, ile submarines (see figure 11-20) in their western fleets
which occur during NATO exercises, Soviet surveil- for deployment in the Atlantic and European theater
lance capabilities are impaired, sometimes drastically. aeFour ine-lanc ant rue me
area. Four submarine-launched antiship ciriise missile
If EMCON conditions were imposed in wartime, (ASCM) systems (see figure 11-21), are operational,
Soviet naval and civilian maritime assets and radar each capable of delivering either conventional or
satellites probably would be able to provide adequate nuclear warheads. Deployed units probably carry an
data only on Western surface forces previously located equal mix of high-explosive and nuclear warheads.
or those within striking range of Warsaw Pact coun- They probably also carry at least two nuclear torpe-
tries. Elsewhere, large NATO ships would probably be does. The ASCM-equipped submarines include:
less vulnerable to detection because of the limitations
of the radar satellites and the nearly impossible task of - Seven C-I and three C-II-class nuclear-powered
providing surveillance by surface ships and aircraft in units, each of which can fire eight antiship
Selected Newer Soviet General Purpose Submarines Figure 11-20
Propulsion/max.
submerged speed
Year operational (knots) Armament
C-Il cruise missile submarine 1974 Nuclear/23 SS-N-9 antiship cruise missile
Torpedoes: ASW and antiship
V-Il attack submarine 1973 Nuclear/31 SS-N-15 ASW missile
Torpedoes: ASW and antiship
A attack submarine 1978 Nuclear/27+ Possible ASW missile
Torpedoes
T attack submarine 1973 Diesel/16 Possible ASW missile
Torpedoes
579023 -s cu
11-33
ept

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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.