CUBA IS GETTING ADVANCED SOVIET FIGHTERS, MISSILES, CAUSING CONCERN AT WHITE HOUSE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00049R000802040016-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Sequence Number: 16
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Cuba Is Getting A dvanced Soviet Fighters
Missiles, Causing Concern at White Mouse
13y GF:x>,t.n F. Shin
SwjfUcpnreerof Tut. WALL. STItt':KT JOUHNAI.
WASHINGTON-The U.S. has discovered
that in recent shipments from the Soviet Un-
ion Cuba has received a new, more-sophisti-
cated jet fighter and more-advanced
missiles, administration officials said.
Cuba has begun receiving the MIG?23
Flogger B. the primary air-to-air tactical
fighter in the Soviet air force, the officials
said. This version of the MIG?23, rarely sent
Outside Warsaw Pact countries, is more ad-
vanced than the standard export models
Cuba received earlier.
The new planes are accompanied by
highly maneuverable Apex air-to-air mis-
slles. which are more sophisticated than the
Atoll misst!es Cuba received previously, offi-
cials said.. The new MMGs also have limited
"look-down" radar capability, which en-
ables planes to see below them and .to look
farther over the horizon than less-advanced
radar systems.
The new Apex missiles have greater
range and are more mobile than past Cuban
missiles, officials said. But analysts also
noted that the new air equipment Cuba has
received is basically defensive rather than
offensive in nature. Also, the advanced ver-
sion of the MIG-23 has been exported to
Syria recently, officials said.
Reagan administration officials are con-
Including the airline's vaunted collection of
artwork by Alexander Calder, valued at
more than UlQ 0W. The airline had $24.2
million of cash in its various bank accounts
world-wide when it ceased operations, ac-
cording to the filing.
Among the unsecured liabilities listed by
the airline was the $32.9 million it still owes
fot?iner employees for wages and vacation
pay.. and $48.4 million it owes other airlines
for tickets purchased through Braniff. The
airline also says it owes passengers
grounded by Its cessation of operations $14
million, although it isn't known If they will
ever be reimbursed. ?
Braniff Airways also hinted in the filings
that It may revive a dormant dispute
against its cross-town rival, American Air?
lines. Braniff said it might file a "contingent
to-n- claim" against American for "alleged viola-
,',tic bons of federal antitrust statues," but It
lit- didn't disclose the amount of such a claim.
,Vin (A federal grand jury here has been Investi-
:i;x: gating potentially "anticompetitive" prac-
iar tics at Dallas-Foil Worth regional nirport.
traniff said any claim against American
would depend on the outcome of that investl-
gation.)
rr The assets and debts of Braniff Airways
1"` II ned in the documents by far exceed the
combined assets 4nd debts of Braniff Inter-
s national, the pareht, and Braniff Realty Co.,
ur unit. Financial "snapshots" of those
;us
nvu entities already had been filed with the
court and a reorganization plan for the
Braniff Realty unit already has been ap-
proved by the
bankr
uptcy court. Now that
Braniff Airway's financial predicament
w'ht ;i it ceased operations has been chruni-
' clod, company officials hope to devnt,? their
,fir _..__. , _... . .
cerned about the discoveries for two rea-
sons. First, the new equipment would give
Cuba greater 4bility to knock out U.S. or
other enemy jets In air battles. And second,
the arrivals indicate that, despite the Itea?
gan administration's protests and public de?
nunciations, Cuba isn't scaling back its mill.
tary buildup.
Cuba received Its first batch of MIG-23s.
a shipment of 12, during the Carter adminis-
tration. But those were the standard Flogger
H export version of the planes, officials said,
The Reagan administration detected more
than a year ago that Cuba had begun recely-
Ing more MIG-23s and that the shipments
have continued periodically over recent
months, according to U.S. analysts. They
currently think Cuba has about 40 MIG'
23s.
Only recently, though, have U.S. intelli-
gence officials confirmed that some of the
new MIGs are the B model and that they
have the new missiles and radar capability.
Officials wouldn't say how many of the
more-advanced jets are in Cuba.
Sigh of Tension
On a related matter, the U.S. has do.
tected a sign of tension between Cuba and
Angola, a Soviet-supported state backed by
Cuban troops. The Central Intelligence
Agency has reported that some 2,000 Ango-
Ian students studying In Cuba are being sent
home In the wake of a "flot" last month at
the Isle of Youth, a facility where Cuba edu?
cates youth from countries with which it is
friendly.
The riot apparently caused five deaths,
U.S. officials said. They aren't sure whether
the deaths were of Cubans or Angolans, nor
are they certain what caused the uprising.
But the development could be significant
because the U.S. has been trying to per-
suade Angola to separate Itself from Cuba
and to send home some 20,000 Cuban troops
stationed in Angola. Departure of the Cuban
troops would make It easier for the U.S. and
its Western allies to arrange for the indepen?
dence of Namibia, a bordering territory con-
trolled by South Africa.
South Africa has 'said it Is reluctant to
grant independence to Namibia while Cuban
trtops.are still stationed In Angola, for fear
the troops would spread Cuban influence
Into Namibia. But the U.S. hasn't seen any
signs that Angola is about to ask the troops
to leave, officials said.
Unhappiness With Angola
But the U.S. has seen other signs that the
Soviets are unhappy with Angola for ex-
panding ties to the West and for failing to
hew closely enough to Soviet policies.
The new Soviet air equipment is trouble-
some to U.S. officials because it is another
sign that Cuba has been receiving addi-
tional, more-sophisticated equipment. The
Reagan administration has previously
charged that In recent months Cuba has me
ceuved new Foxtrot submarines and a Soviet
Boni-class frigate.
Cuba has previously received MUG-2.:
Flogger Fs, ground attack planes and %it('.?
23 Flogger Cs, training planes.
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