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.
“Independence Day”1 page
Top Secret Tactical Depth. A Soviet targeting term for the area occupied by NATO's first-echelon divisions. Tactical depth is typically portrayed as extending 25 to 40 kilometers behind the FEBA. Tactical Formation. Division-size forces, which in- clude air divisions and presumably army-level army aviation forces. Tactical formations arc comprised of what the Soviets call units (such as air regiments) and subunits (such as air squadrons and detachments). Tactical Reconnaissance. Intelligence collection per- formed for ground army and division headquarters, primarily to support the planning and conduct of the combat engagements of the first-echelon ground divi- sions. The Soviets believe that most of the tactical reconnaissance targets would be located within 40 kilometers of the FEBA, but they would conduct some tactical air reconnaissance missions to the full depth of the objectives of the parent ground armies (typical- ly 150 to 300 kilometers). Front air force tactical reconnaissance squadrons and elements of the various army aviation forces would perform most of the tactical air reconnaissance missions. Theaters of Military Operations. Large geographic areas into which the Soviet General Staff divides the theaters of war for the purposes of strategic planning. TMOs can be continental, maritime, or intercontinen- tal and are either main or secondary depending on their relative military, political, and economic impor- tance. Directed by a high command headquarters, the strategic grouping of forces in a main TMO would conduct strategic operations to achieve strategic goals of the war. Theaters of War. The major geographic areas into .6 which the Soviet General Staff divides the world for strategic planning. Each theater of war generally corresponds to an entire continent, such as the Euro- pean Theater of War. We have no indication that the Soviets intend to establish special headquarters to direct operations in the various theaters of war 85 uoCn
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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.