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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. 20 …Unlike NATO, the Warsaw Pact does not have theater headquarters in being in peacetime, although hardened…
  • p. 21 …control of the Western and Southwestern TVD headquarters-often called High Commands by the Soviets. The…
  • p. 26 …links could be established to theater-level headquarters and to supporting strategic cornmands. Communications, between Moscow…
  • p. 35 …Surprise in the known: ' Soviet view can be achieved through many means- Administrative Structure HeadQuartered in…
  • p. 55 …The Soviets Headquarters in Moscow and are considered strategic maintain a total of 15 such divisions…
  • p. 72 …PO A ; re -t { - Black Sea Fleet ROMANI A -UGM (Dsevastopo - BUGRAFleet Caspian headquarters Black Sea…
  • p. 74 …Readiness from Naval Headquarters in Moscow, from fleet Home Waters 40 Operable headquarters,.or by command…
  • p. 114 …reported to fleet headquarters, a practice we did not 259. Forward Basing. To support their worldwide…
  • p. 117 …Some do not have Ground Forces headquarters; some have d. Not all have naval commands. Military…
  • p. 118 …in Soviet maritime strategy is the MTVD, headquarters in being in peacetime. Hardened com- the Maritime…
  • p. 119 …The headquarters staffs and communications after full mobilization; a more typical front would support elements of…
  • p. 122 …Representatives of the Headquarters of the 14. The Soviets intend to maintain centralized con- Warsaw Pact…
  • p. 182 …The number of older ballistic missile subma- links could be established to theater-level headquarters rincs…
  • p. 183 …communications system for use between major fixed headquarters. 108. Logistic Support. Improvements in the logis- tic…
Nominal Flight Profiles of Selected Soviet Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles Figure II-21b
Altitude (m)
18,000
16,000
SS-N-12
14.000
12.000
10,000
8.000 - - - -
SS-N-3b
6,000 Mod 1 - -
SS-N-3a
4,000 -- -- -
4.000SS- N-3b
- - - -Mod -
2,000
SS-N-3c
500 400 300 200 100 0 Target
Range (km)
579025 w, cu
missiles while submerged. The C-I fires the rines with the SS-N-12 system also can receive
SS-N-7 missile to a maximum range of 35 nauti- initial target data directly from ELINT and
cal miles (65 kin). The C-1I probably fires the radar satellites. Additional E-IIs are being modi-
SS-N-9 missile to a maximum range of 60 nm fied, presumably to carry the SS-N-12.
(110 km). Both missiles are guided by a preset - Twelve J-class diesel-powered submarines, each
autopilot. The SS-N-7 uses active radar terminal with four SS-N-3a missiles. Like the E-IIs, the
homing and the SS-N-9 uses a dual mode seeker, J-class submarines require external targeting sup-
with active radar and infrared (IR) terminal port and must surface to fire their missiles.
homing, - A single P-class nuclear-powered submarine
Fifteen E-II-class nuclear-powered submarines, probably was designed to fire 10 missiles while
each carrying eight, surface-launched, long' submerged, but we are uncertain whether the
range missiles. Most E-Us carry the 220-nm (410- P-class has been equipped with missiles. The
km) SS-N-3a missile. To date at least two of these missile system for the P-class has not been identi-
submarines have been converted to fire the 300- fied, although it may be the SS-N-9.
nm (555-km) SS-N-12. Both missiles use active In addition to antiship cruise missile submarines there
radlar terminal homing and midcourse targeting are also five obsolescent W-class submarines equipped
information to enhance accuracy. Those subma- with the inertially guided SS-N-3c missile which was
11-35

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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.