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
Top a~I Warsaw Pact Tactical Nuclear Figure I-25 Table 11-10 Forces Opposite NATO, 1969 and 1979 Warsaw Pact Tactical Nuclear Forces Opposite NATO * 3,000 January 1979 In Eastern Europe In the Soviet NSWP USSR Total 2,000 ---- Tactical Aircraft Fighters 765 - 580 1,345 Fighter-Bombers 450 135 650 . 1,235 1,000 Light Bombers 30 - 30 60 Total 1,245 135 1,260 2,640 Tactical Missile Launchers 0 Tactical Tactical Nuclear- FROG 125 185 260 570 Aircraft Missile Capable SS-1/Scud 150 125 240 515 1969 1979 Launchers Artillery SS-12/Scaleboard 1969 1979 Pieces (includes SS-22) - - 72 72 Secret 1979 SS-21 - - 6 6 Total 275 310 578 1,163577633 1-79 CIA Nuclear Artillery 203-mm SP Guns/Towed accuracy of their current missile systems and the ;un-Howitzers - - 144 144 lack of timely, accurate reconnaissance data on 240-mm SP Mortars/ small, mobile targets. Towed Mortars - - 144 144 - Development and deployment of a new genera- Total - - 288 288 tion of tactical nuclear delivery systems with * See footnote to table II-, following paragraph 3. characteristics superior to those of their predeces- sors. Newer models- of Soviet tactical aircraft have greatly improved range and payload capa- bilities, and more effective tactical surface-to- 157. Tactical Aircraft. Numerically, the most im- surface missiles are being deployed. portant nuclear delivery systems in Eastern Europe are Soviet tactical aircraft. Virtually all Soviet fighter 155. The Soviets have a variety of tactical nuclear and fighter-bomber units in Eastern Europe conduct delivery systems in their ground and tactical air forces training and exercise activities which indicate a mis- deployed opposite NATO. (See table II-10.) Nuclear sion of delivering nuclear bombs. As of 1975, however, weapons are also carried by many of the Soviet Navy's only about one-third of the pilots in these Soviet units general purpose ships, submarines, and aircraft. were qualified by Soviet standards to drop nuclear bombs. We expect that the number of Soviet tactical 156. The Soviets have given their East European air units in the USSR which have nuclear missions will allies reason to believe that they will be provided increase as the Soviets continue to reequip units with nuclear weapons in wartime. The NSWP national new, nuclear-capable aircraft. commands, particularly the Polish and Czechoslovak 158. The role of Frontal Aviation for delivering commands, evidently train and plan for the eventual- tactical nuclear weapons is expanding. ity that they will receive nuclear warheads in wartime. Fronts commanded by non-Soviets have also been notionally allocated nuclear weapons in recent Pact exercises. In addition, we have information that NSWP war plans may include procedures for. the transfer of Soviet nuclear warheads to NSWP missile units. Thus, while we have no direct evidence regard- ing Soviet intentions, we judge that NSWP tactical aircraft and missiles, as shown in table 11-10, are likely to be used for nuclear operations in Europe. 11-45 Top aeu~
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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.