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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…
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.