RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT OVERFLIGHT OF CUBA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M00165A000600040031-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 9, 2004
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: January 1, 1977
• Content Type: MF

Approved F%gelease 20?0 109/23 CIA-PDP80M001 A000600040031-1
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, U.C. 20505
MEMORANDUM FOR: The Honorable Zbigniew Brzezinski?
Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs
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SUBJECT . Reconnaissance Aircraft Overflight of
Cuba
1. This memorandum responds to some of the questions raised
during the discussion of reconnaissance overight of Cuba during
yesterday's NSC meeting.
2. Subsequent to the Cuban missile cisis, the Intelligence
Community was highly dependent on manned Overflight of Cuba by
U-2 aircraft to monitor the status of Cuban military forces, the
supply of Soviet military equipment. to Cuba and the periodic de-
ployment of Soviet air and naval units.ko that island. As the
capaibility and capacity of our film-rgfurn photo-satellite recon-
naissance systems improved, the frequEncy of aircraft overflight
was incrementally reduced. By 1970,`the satellites were providing
the bulk of the photographic coverage of Cuban targets and aircraft
were used primarily to respond to time-sensitive intelligence
requirements which could not be mot by the film-return satellite
systems. By mid-1974, when the SR-71 replaced the U-2 for over-
flight of Cuba, it was recognizt that the justification for
continued overflight was based.lprimarily on the-political require-
ment to maintain a continuing_f1S reconnaissance presence over the
island. A continuing standby overflight capability was also
provided for to handle time-ensitive national intelligence problems.
3. Since May 1975, the frequency of SR-71 overflight has been
This schedule, ihich was
established by ecretaryr issinger, has generally been' adhered to
unless accelerated or delayed by the Operations Advisory Group or
adversely affected by 'feather.
Copy No.
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