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Warsaw Pact Air Forces: Support of Strategic Operations in Central Europe, CIA/DI/SOVA Intelligence Assessment, January 1985.

Central Intelligence Agency · 95 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Central Intelligence Agency Directorate of Intelligence assessment, dated January 1985, examines how Warsaw Pact air forces would support large strategic operations in Central Europe. It concludes that the Soviets see NATO air power as the greatest threat to a Pact ground offensive. They revised their air supremacy plans in 1980 and 1981 to use sector-concentrated raids and a defensive air operation. The assessment also finds that heavy aircraft losses and limited deep attack capability would remain serious problems. The document has no UFO content.

  • p. 16 …Europe primarily to support the Combined Baltic Sea Fleet, (thc FRG. Dcnmark the Nethertands, and Belgium…
  • p. 32 …303}5 12-54 Smolensk strategic air army and the Baltic Sea Fleet egional opera- air…
  • p. 42 …between the twostrategic zone and the North Sea. Most primary sectors a series of operational phases…
  • p. 44 …would be carriers operating in the North Sea. This mission aircraft in the open, but the…
  • p. 50 …Sea Fleet-also a Western TMO asset-is responsible for targets in the North Sea, We…
  • p. 51 …The depth of airstrikes Sea. Medium bomber targets are not likely to bewould be limited by…
  • p. 52 …Sea Fleet 0 35b 5the FEBA (including Denmark and the polish-DR Front 75 25Baltic Sea…
  • p. 54 …missile strike air division of the Baltic Sea Fleet AF have nuclearof the Smolenk SAA. e…
  • p. 57 …a Targets within the strike demarcation line except those covered by the Baltic Sea Fleet. b…
  • p. 62 …doing, they would seal off the Baltic Sea, securing the establishment of a penetration corridor through…
  • p. 63 …Sea a rrq sit fodee tn na a foce th r andr securingF}the sea ar…
  • p. 64 …as joint operations between the Combined Baltic Sea Fleet and the - coastal (normally Polish-GDR) front…
  • p. 65 …and missile force of the Combined Baltic Sea Fleet in supporting capabilities and are heavily dependent…
  • p. 66 …and could be\ajrcraft fromn the Baltic Sea Fleet The Blinder recon---objects of final reconnaissance…
  • p. 79 …and possibly aircraft carriers in the North Sea front air force-usually the fifth front in…
Figure 12
Air Forces Operating Areas in the Initial Massed Nuclear Strike
in the Western Theater of Military Operations
' .. a~;~ :. 10 m ~~asno~m. ww
-T"" - *A"M~o~eeI~Il dL
' British
I ~strategic '
C zone> ' ~
lt4etold a,, O -
rbEastEuropean
i=VStik deacto lines' .t i
s c Ar -f.zrke b
B dg .M suborderand st zon
Backfire BWndesr -X1O b
.nhigh-altitude - hih-eitlmude d n s-
radFus radluse Fn
strateg c
strategic
- zone
-r by Forward edge of battle area
-Strike demarcation line
- Area of strikes -
/r TMO-subordiate forcese
-- - -- Western TMO boundary -
- In this example we assume that the imitial massed nuclear strike" occurs on the second or third day of the Pact offensive and that the
strike demarcation limeis locatecd at a depth of up to 200 km beyond
the FEBA.
bWe assume that the strategic aviation Fencers are subordmnate to
the Western TMO high command and are operating in the area
within the demarcation line and that the Baltic Sea Fleet-also a
Western TMO asset-is responsible for targets in the North Sea,
We also assume that the strategic aviation medium bombers are not
operationally subordmnate to the Western TMO high command.
" The action radii of medium bombers are measured from repre-
sentative peacetime operatimg bases in the western USSR. These
radii do not include indhlght refuching or the added coverage
afforded by the range of air-to-surface missiles.
55 . y'a , r".ti 41?- . s v!"ToD SeCret

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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 95 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.