Documents / FOIA release
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.
“Cooper”4 pages
Top secret Appendix D Glossary of Terms This glossary contains brief explanations of Soviet the initiative and the capability to impose their will- and hence Warsaw Pact military terms as well as over the enemy air forces. With air supremacy, the some terms that we have created to describe Soviet ground forces, navy, and air forces would have the military concepts discussed in this paper. These expla- opportunity to perform their assigned tasks without nations are based on Pact military writings significant opposition from enemy air and air defense forces. In a conventional war, achieving air suprema- cy vould be the chief task of the Pact air and air Air Defense Operation. Actions conducted throughout defense forces. The Soviets classify air supremacy as a theater of military operations (TMO) by air, air strategic, operational, or tactical. Strategic air su- defense, and other forces under a unified plan to premacy is the control of the air over an entire TMO counter a large enemy offensive air campaign and to for the period of a strategic operation; operational air create favorable conditions for launching an offensive supremacy is control over an individual operational air operation to establish strategic air supremacy. The axis or a front sector for a more limited time (typically high commands in the main TMOs would plan and for a few days): tactical air supremacy is temporary manage air defense operations, which would include control only over a particular tactical engagement. offensive as well as defensive measures to blunt the enemy air campaign. This term also is used occasion- ally to refer to the routine air defense activities of Army Aviation. The branch of the Soviet Air Forces operational-level forces. that equips and trains the helicopter and drone units subordinate to front, army, and division commanders. Airfield Blockade. Soviet tactic of using fighters to Thesi army aviation forces arc intended to provide prevent enemy aircraft flights into or out of airfields most of the direct air support to ground forces in the area of a military objective by performing divisions during front and army operations. combat air patrols over those airfields. The Pact would use blockades to trap NATO aircraft on their airfields immediately before the airfield attacks in an Army Aviation Force. Our term for tactical-size army air operation or as part of the fighter protection for aviation formations and army aviation headquarters airborne and amphibious operations and for strike elements that are fully integrated into the front air aircraft conducting the initial massed nuclear strike. force, ground army, and ground division commands. The predominantly helicopter-equipped army aviation forces differ in size and function at each of the three Air Operation. A major offensive air campaign con- levels of command. The army- and division-subordi- ducted by one or more strategic aviation formations, nate army aviation forces also play a key role in the usually with the cooperation of other forces. An air front airspace management system. operation normally would consist of multiple massed air raids to achieve a strategic objective in a TMO, Army Operation. Employment of forces as planned Air operations typically would be planned and direct- and directed by the headquarters of a combined-arms ed by the high commands in the main TMOs and by or tank army. An army operation typically would the Soviet Air Forces Main Staff for the secondary pursue what the Soviets call an operational objective TMOs. at the behest of the Soviet Supreme High on a single operational axis within a front. It would be Command. conducted according to a unified plan that incorporat- ed the combat activities of all of the forces in the Air Supremacy. Soviet term for the situation in which army's sector of operations.l the air forces have decisive superiority-possession of 81 ThirSerc-
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 95 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.