ADDITIONAL SOVIET ARMS FOR FINLAND

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T01003A002300160001-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 31, 2008
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 1, 1965
• Content Type: BRIEF

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SECRET
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INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
Office of Research and Reports
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25 YEAR RE-REVIEW
SECRET
GROUP 1
Excluded from automatic
downgrading and
declassification
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ADDITIONAL SOVIET ARMS FOR FINLAND
Under the terms of a trade agreement concluded between Finland and
the Soviet Union in August 1964, Finland is to receive about $4. 5 million
in military equipment from the USSR in 1965 and $10. 9 million worth of
Soviet arms annually during 1966-70. This $59 million arms accord is a
continuation of a military procurement program which Finland began in
1959 and which will bring the total value of Finnish-Soviet military agree-
ments to $137 million. Finnish defense outlays since World War Il have
been consistently lower than prewar expenditures and considerably below
those of Scandinavian countries. The acquisition of these Soviet arms
will add to the capability of the Finnish armed forces by modernizing the
equipment base. In the past, Finland has been particularly attracted to
the USSR as a source of military materiel because Soviet arms have been
of good quality, reasonably priced, and rapidly delivered; moreover, such
arms purchases have been paid for out of Finland's traditional surplus in
its clearing account with the USSR. However, continued arms purchases
from the USSR may jeopardize Helsinki's attempt to maintain a rough 25X1
balance in its armament purchases between East and West and may lead
to increased pressure from Moscow for joint military activities.
1. Finnish-Soviet Arms Agreements
A Finnish military delegation arrived in Moscow this past spring to
begin selecting equipment under the $59 million arms agreement.
In the past, Finland has signed military agreements with the USSR
in March 1959, July 1960, November 1962, and May 1964 which provided
for a wide range, if a relatively small amount, of infantry weapons and
naval and air equipment. Most of the purchases under the 1960 and 1962
agreements probably were made under the $125 million credit extended
to Finland by the USSR in late 1959. By the end of 1964, Soviet arms
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valued at nearly $78 million had been delivered or obligated to Finland.
These purchases are summarized as follows:
Value
Date of Agreement (Million US $)
E ui ment
March 1959 2.7 14 T-54 medium tanks
Artillery
1 11-28 light jet bomber
Radar
Ammunition and spares
Vehicles
July 1960
25
31 T-54 medium tanks
12 57-mm antiaircraft guns
12 ZSU-57-2 self-propelled anti-
aircraft guns
21,000 submachineguns
1,000 light machineguns
1 I1-28 light jet bomber
4 Mi-1 helicopters
3 Mi-4 helicopters
November 1962
37
Ammunition and spares
Vehicles
21 MIG-21 jet fighters (AAM-e
quipped)
4 U-MIG-15 trainers
.2 Riga-class escort ships
May 1964
13
40 130-mm field guns
15 BTR-50P armored personnel
12 PT-76 amphibious tanks
55 marine diesel engines
Repair shops
2 U-MIG-21 jet trainers
carriers
85 130-mm field guns
28 tracked prime movers
Ammunition and spares
2. Implications
Although the peace treaty signed in Paris in 1947 initially restricted
Finnish purchases of military materiel, since 1962 such transactions
have not been formally opposed by the signatories. Continued Finnish
arms purchases from the USSR, however, may jeopardize Helsinki's
attempt since 1959 to maintain a rough balance between East and West in its
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the foreign arms acquired by Finland to more than the 55 percent it had
reached in 1964. Moreover, senior Finnish officers fear that continued
acquisition of Soviet materiel will increase Moscow's pressure for ioint
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