Nordic Security And The Great Powers by John C. Ausland

Author:John C. Ausland [Ausland, John C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780429038648
Google: hpkPyAEACAAJ
Publisher: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2018-01-15T01:35:04+00:00

The Soviet force buildup

In 1985, the Norwegian Defense Ministry released an unclassified version of a study made by the Defense Command. The title of the English version is Development of the Soviet forces in our sphere of interest during the past 20 years. It describes in considerable detail the changes that have taken place in Soviet combat forces in the Leningrad Military District since the mid-1960s. (The Norwegian numbers vary slightly from the later figures in the International Institute for Strategic Studies Military Balance, 1985-86. Where these are significant, I have given the Military Balance figure in parenthesis. I should also note that the Northern Fleet normally has some of its attack submarines and surface ships in the Mediterranean.)

Northern Fleet. The Norwegian study does not go into detail regarding the strategic nuclear forces based on the Kola Peninsula, perhaps because the Soviets would use most of these against targets outside the nordic area. The study notes, however, that the number of strategic missile submarines has increased from 26 to 40 (41). More significantly, the number of ballistic missiles which these submarines carry has increased from about 65 to about 550 (576).

The number of nonstrategic submarines has not changed much, holding steady at about 140. A larger proportion of these submarines, however, now carry cruise missiles. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number which are able to fire their cruise missiles when submerged. The US Navy is very concerned about the threat these submarines pose.

The number of surface ships in the Northern Fleet has gone up significantly. The total of cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and corvettes has grown from 50 to 91. Furthermore, there has been a major increase in the number of cruisers, from 3 to 12.

The Northern Fleet has also seen an increase in its inventory of aircraft, from 320 to 430. Whereas the fleet had no fighter bombers in the mid-1960s, it now has about 35. A large part of these are FORGERS, which can take off and land vertically from an aircraft carrier. There has also been a marked increase in anti-submarine aircraft, both fixed wing and helicopter.

US naval authorities are reticent about discussing the tactical nuclear capability of either their or Soviet naval forces. They discuss the Soviet ships and submarines in some detail but say little about their nuclear weapons systems. Both the Northern and Baltic Fleets, however, have considerable tactical nuclear capability. Even the aging WHISKY class submarine which ran onto a rock on the Swedish coast evidently carried nuclear torpedoes. The Soviet Navy could use some of its tactical nuclear missiles against targets on land.

Air forces. Even more than the aircraft belonging to the Northern Fleet, nordic military planners must take into account those belonging to the Soviet air forces. These include heavy bombers, tactical aircraft, and air defense fighters. Although the number of bombers and air defense fighters in the Leningrad Military District has held steady, they are better aircraft than their predecessors. Even more worrisome is the fact that the number of tactical aircraft has doubled (from 250 to 500).

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