Documents / FOIA release

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…
Too Secret
Figure 13
Execution of a Typical Initial Massed Nuclear
Strike by the Western High Command-
Subordinate Air Forces-
Echelon: Support Strike Third
Roles Final reconnaissance Nuclear strikes Nuclear reserve
Fighter sweeps Fighter cover Fighter cover
Defense suppression Defense suppression
Final reconnaissance
Time over target H-90 to 11.30 and 11+15 to H+20 to H+45 minutes 11+25 to H+90
(11-start) H+45 minutes minutes
Force distribution Most reconnaissance aircraft Nearly all light bombers Less than 5 percent of light
33 percent of fighters 60 to 65 percent of bombers and
About 33 percent of Fighter-bombers fighter-bombers
fighter-bombers 33 percent of fighters 33 percent of fighters
Typical force compositiono 175 Reconnaissance aircraft 180 Light bombers 335 Fighters
235 Fighters 420 Fighter-bombers 5 Light bombers
220 Fighter-bombers 235 Fighters 20 Fighter-bombers
50 Reconnaissance aircraft
Note: Italics indicate primaryrolesin the strike.
a Targets within the strike demarcation line except those covered by the
Baltic Sea Fleet.
b We assumesuficient time to readythe full strikeforce. a three-front
force disposition, subordinatlon of the LegnicaSAA to the Westernhigh
command,nonparticipatioti yr nationalair defensefighters, no prior
attrition, and operationalreadinessratesof theair forcesas in table3.
The strike echelon, composed of about a third of the strike aircraft typically also would be accompanied by
fighters, nearly all of the light bombers, approximate- one or more conventionally armed defense suppression
ly two-thirds of the fighter-bombers, and the remain- aircraft. The third echelon would contain the small
ing reconnaissance aircraft would follow minutes lat- airborne nuclear reserve force (to strike newly detect-
er. They would deliver their nuclear strikes between ed and surviving targets) and the remaining third of
about 20 and 45 minutes after H-hour, provide ac- the fighters (charged with guarding the safe recovery
companying top cover, and perform final reconnais- of the first two echelons at the conclusion of the
sance for the upcoming second strike of the ground mission)
forces missiles and nuclear artillery. Each group of
Top\Secret 48

Not linked to a story yet.

About this file

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.