COMMUNIST MILITARY AID DELIVERIES TO NORTH VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00875R001600010099-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 8, 2010
• Sequence Number: 99
• Publication Date: November 1, 1968
• Content Type: IM

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Secret
Intelligence Memorandum
Communist Military Aid Deliveries to North Vietnam
DOCUi4ENT LIBRARY
FILE COPY
013 thuT TISTAOY
DIA review
completed.
Secret
ER IM 68-149
Novamber 1968
Copy No.
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WARNING
This document contains information affecting the national
defense of the United States; within the meaning of Title
18, sections 793 and 794, of the US Code, as amended.
Its transmission or revelation of its contents to or re-
ceipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
GROUP I
BXCLIU*D rMOM AUTOMATIC
COANONAOINO AND
DACLAANI CATION
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Foreword
This memorandum presents an analysis of the
value and volume of Soviet and Chinese Communist
military deliveries to North Vietnam. Although
data are presented on cumulative deliveries since
1954, the analysis is focused on deliveries dur-
ing the first half of 1968. The memorandum was
prepared jointly by the Ce 'ral Intelligence Agency
and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
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COMMUNIST MILITARY AID DELIVERIES
TO NORTH VIETNAM
Summary
The continued receipt of military aid deliveries
from its Communist allies has been essential to the
military defense of North Vietnam and the conduct of
the war in South Vietnam. Since 1954 the cumulative
value of Communist military aid deliveries, valued
at Soviet foreign trade prices, is estimated to be
about $1.8 billion.* During the first half of 1968,
the value of military aid to North Vietnam is esti-
mated at about $275 million, somewhat below the level
for the same period in 1967. The estimated drop in
the value of military aid reflects the lower require-
ments for ammunition and surface-to-air missiles
that resulted from the US bombing standdown in the
northern portion of the country. Despite this de-
cline, the continued receipt of additional jet
fighters and equipment for missile-firing battalions
during the first six months of 1968 emphasized the
willingness of the Communist countries to continue
to underwrite North Vietnamese and Viet Cong demands
for armaments.
The USSR is the major supplier of military aid,
providing about three-fourths of the total; Communist
China provides most of the remainder, with small
amounts from Eastern European countries and North
Korea. Military aid from Eastern Europe increased
in the first half of 1968 but still is onLy a small
part of the total. The USSR continues to supply
ammunition and most of North Vietnam's air c:efense
equipment; Communist China's aid is principally in
ammunition and infantry weapons.
* Soviet foreign trade prices are the list prices
charged for military hardware and ammunition by the
USSR under its aid agreements with non-Communist
countries. Values calculated at equivalent US
costs, intended to reflect the cost of the Soviet
materiel if it were produced in the United States,
generally are higher than the foreign trade valua-
tions. Values in Tables 1 and 2 are expressed in
both types of prices, but values in the text are
given in foreign trade prices.
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Besides the quantifiable imports of military
equipment, Chinese, Soviet, and North Korean mili-
tary personnel have been stationed in North
Vietnam to assist in training, maintenance, and
construction activities; and North Vietnamese
have gone to Communist China, the USSR, and Czecho-
slovakia for military training. Most of the
Communist countries have supplied to North Vietnam
a steady flow of the military-related goods
nec^ssary for continuing the war.
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Introduction
1. Military equipment and ammunition from other
Communist countries have been key elements in North
Vietnam's war-making capabilities. Imports of mili-
tary materiel -- with more than 90 percent of total
deliveries having come in since early 1965 -- have
equipped North Vietnamese army and Viet Cong regular
force units fighting in South Vietnam with some of
the latest Communist conventional weapons. North
Vietnam's air defense system has been continually
upgraded with new jet fighters, antiaircraft artil-
lery, and the Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missile
system. Although details of military aid agreements
are not available, it is apparent that the major
Communist donors of such aid are willing to supply
the Communist forces in North and South Vietnam with
the quantities and types of weapons requested, with
few exceptions. All military aid is estimated to
have been in the form of grants.
Communist Military Aid Deliveries to North Vietnam
2. Communist military aid to North Vietnam dur-
ing the first half of 1968, valued in foreign trade
prices, is estimated at about $275 million, about
15 percent below the estimated deliveries during the
same period of 1967. The cumulative value of Com-
munist military aid deliveries to Porth Vietnam
through mid-1968 is almost $1.8 billion, as shown in
the following tabulation:
Million US $
1954-64
1965
1966
1967
Jan-Jun
1968
Total
USSR
Communist
China
Eastern
Europe
70
70
Negl.
210
60
Negl.
360
95
Negl.
505
145
Negl
220
50
5
1,365
420
North
.
5
Korea
0
0
Negl.
Negl.
Negl.
Negl.
Total
140
270
455
650
275
1,790
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3. The estimated mix of military imports into
North Vietnam changed during the first half of 1968
because of the restriction of bombing against the
heavily defended targets in the north. Imports of
some items of air defense materiel. during the first
few months of 1968 probably continued at the same
rate as in 1967, but were reduced as stockpiles
were developed. For example, imports of surface-to-
air missiles at the beginning of the year are esti-
mated at about 375 per month -- the average number
expended against US aircraft during the last half
of 1967. However, Rolling Thunder sorties were
limited by adverse weather during the first quarter,
and only about 135 SAM's per month were fired. With
the 31 March restrictions on US bombing, SAM expendi-
tures dropped to less than 20 per month, and imports
undoubtedly were reduced. Imports of antiaircraft
artillery ammunition probably were reduced in a
similar pattern during the first half of the year.
These reductions in military imports were partly
offset by the import from the USSR of eight MIG-21
jet aircraft during the second quarter and of equip-
ment for ten surface-to-air missile battalions by
the end of June. Imports of some other items in
North Vietnam's military inventory are believed to
have been reduced.
4. The Soviet Union continued to be the principal
supplier of military aid, providing almost four-fifths
of the total value of deliveries to North Vietnam dur-
ing the first half of 1968, as it did in 1965-67.
Communist China supplied slightly less than one-Fifth,
whereas the combined shares provided by Eastern
European countries and North Korea amounted to only
about 2 percent of the total. Military aid from the
USSR during the first half of 1968 consisted primarily
of ammunition and sophisticated air defense equipment
such as surface-to-air missile battalions and advanced
MIG-21 fighter aircraft. Communist China provided
additional ammunition and most of the small arms and
other infantry weapons. Military aid from the Eastern
European countries and North Korea consisted of infan-
try equipment and comparatively small amounts of ammuni-
tion. Estimated military aid deliveries from the USSR
and Communist China, by quantity and value from 1965
through mid-1968, are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
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5. Imports of ammunition made up more than one-
half of the total value of military aid in 1967 and
the first six months of 1968. The value of ammuni-
tion delivered to North Vietnam by the USSR and Com-
munist China is estimated at about $170 million
during the first half of 1968, about a 15 percent
reduction from the preceding half year. Surface-to-
air missiles and equipment for missile battalions
made up about one-fourth of the total value of mili-
tary aid in the first halms of both years. Other
ground weapons and air combat and defense equipment,
including radar, infantry weapons, and artillery,
made up most of the remainder. The combined value
of military vehicles and naval craft was less than
2 percent of the total in both periods.
6. In addition to the quantified military assist-
ance, a considerable amount of other military aid and
of military-related equipment has been provided.
Military personnel from the USSR, Communist China,
and North Korea are assisting the North Vietnamese.
Between 30,000 and 50,000 Chinese support troops --
the number is believed to be decreasing -- have worked
on construction, repair, and air defense in North
Vietnam, primarily on rail lines and airfields in the
north. Chinese military personnel also have partici-
pated in training North Vietnamese troops. The
number of Soviet military technicians now in North
Vietnam is believed to be somewhat below the estimated
2,500 that were present in mid-19651--
Soviet military personnel also have been
training North Vietnamese jet fighter pilots
_ Vietnamese
military personnel have also been trained in the
USSR, Communist China, and Czechoslovakia.
7. The aid agreements for 1968, negotiated with
Communist countries during the period August-October
1967, were generally declared to be for strengthening
the economic and national defense potential of North
Vietnam. Details of the agreements are lacking, but
official. public statements indicate that Communist
China, North Korea, Bulgaria, Poland, the USSR, Hungary,
and Rumania agreed to provide grants of military assist-
ance in 1968. During the period May through July of
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this year, Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary, Poland, and
Czechoslovakia signed supplementary military aid
agreements for the remainder of 1968, and all nine
Communist aid donors -- the eight mentioned above
plus East Germany -- signed agreements for military
aid in 1969.
8. The level and the composition of Communist
military aid to North Vietnam during the last half of
1968 probably will not be changed appreciably. With
the current bombing standdown, replacement needs for
surface-to-air missiles and imports of antiaircraft
artillery ammunition will remain below 1967 levels.
Further additions to North Vietnam's inventories of
MIG aircraft and radar have already been seen since
mid-1968. However, current defenses are deployed n
depth around North Vietnam's major industrial and
population centers as well as for defense of logis-
tical routes in the Panhandle, and the value of these
imports during the remainder of the year may continue
to decline.
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Soviet Military Aid Deliveries to North Vietnam
1965 - January-June 1968
At Soviet
At Soviet
At Soviet
At Soviet
Quantity
Foreign
At
Quantity
Foreign
At
Quantity
Foreign
At
Quantity
Foreign
At
(Units)
Trade Prices
US Costa
(Units)
Trade Prices
US Costs
(Units)
Trade Prices
US Coats
(Units)
Trade Prices
US Costs
Total value b/
aO
280
440
220
30
SAM missile systems
1?
j
U
?2
142
162
74
81
Firing battalions J 15
66
70
10
44
47
5
22
23
10
44
46
Replacement missiles / 200
6
7
1,100
33
38
4,000
120
139
1,000
30
35
Aircraft
Al
j.
85
51
20
16
22
8
6
Q
IL-28 light jet bomber 8
3
u
MIG-21 jet fighter 11
9
12
26
21
28
20
16
22
8
6
9
1410-15/17 Jet fighter 32
4
10
42
6
13
MI-6 helicopter
6
12
7
MI-4 helicopter 3
1
1
7
1
1
U-MIG-15 Jet trainer 3
Negl.
1
AN-24 medium transport
3
3
3
IL-18 heavy transport
1
2
1
Naval craft
2
Net.
NeRl.
Poluchat-1 class motor gunboat
2
Negl.
Negl
Neal.
.
Ne 1.
T-54 medium tank 30
3
4
40
3
5
T-34 medium tank 25
1
2
PT-76 amphibious tank 25
1
1
5
Negl.
1
10
1
1
BTR-40 armored personnel carrier 25
ffegl.
Negl.
10
Negl.
Negl.
40
1
1
BTR-50 armored personnel carrier
3
Negl.
Negl.
ZSU-57 self-propelled gun 8
Negl.
1
SU-76 assault gun
Other 20
Negl.
Negl.
30
Negl.
1
Artillery e/ 1.43
18
80
100-mm antiaircraft 100
5
14
].00
5
14
85-mm antiaircraft 315
12
27
55
2
5
465
19
40
57-mm antiaircraft 485
17
31
735
25
46
590
21
37
37-mm antiaircraft 250
2
6
1,850
17
44
850
8
20
14.5-mm antiaircraft 230
1
1
50
Negl.
Keg].
100
Negl.
1
Field gun (76-152 mm) 50
1
1
40
1
Negl.
225
5
T
5
Neil.
Negl.
PI
g
4
ibo
3
89
Al
Q
6
650
3
1
400
2
2
850
410
2
2
1
1
I
2
1
1
Negl.
1
40.000
164
164
68.000
g
1i
MI
a. The data refer exclusively to combat materiel; they exclude aid designed for ear-support purposes.
b. Because of rounding, components may not add to the total values shown.
c. Price per firing battalion includes a factor for replacement parts and the cost of an initial complement of missiles.
d. Rounded figure based on estimated number of missiles fired, with some provision for stockpiling.
e. North Vietnam's inventory of antiaircraft artillery has recently been revised dawnward from the high estimate for 1967, and a small, but unknown, number of antiaircraft
weapons carried as imported in 1967 probably were imported in 1968.
f. Estimates for vehi
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Chinese Communist Military Aid Deliveries to North Vietnam
1965 - January-June 1968
Million US $
Million US $
Million US $
Million US $
At Soviet
At Soviet
At Soviet
At Soviet
At
Foreign
At
Quantity
Foreign
At
Quantity
Foreign
At
Quantity
Foreign
t
Trade Price,
US Costs
(Units)
Trade Prices
US Costs
Units
Trade Prices
US Costs
Units
Trade Prices
s
US Cos
66
10.
10
16
160
Lo
LO
1
3
0
0
0
61
8
12
1
3
61
8
19
2
2
2
2
2
6
4
6
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
6
4
5
1
1
1
Negl.
Negl.
Negl.
Negl.
1
2
o
o
0
o
o
o
a
a
a
1
2
4
4
6
6~
8
to
).
NeRl.
NNs~tl?
11
0
1
4
6
100
4
6
100
4
6
2
5
120
1
1
Negl.
Negl.
4o
Negl.
Negl.
425
3
3
5
Begl?
Negi.
3
4
112
2
16
3
I
8
22
2
3
440
2
2
k
4
200
I
1
L01
LO
41
22
go-
4
33
}j,
10.000
41
41
23.000
9k
944
10.000
41
41
a. The data refer exclusively to combat materiel; they exclude aid designed for var-support purposes.
b. Because of rounding, components may not add to the total valuee shown.
c. North Vietjam'a in^^.ntory of antiaircraft artillery has recently been revised downward from the high estimate for 1967, and a smalls but unknown, number of antiaircraft
weapons carried as imported in 1967 probably were imported in 1968.
d. Estimates for vehicles assigned to the armed farces. Vehicles used for military-support purposes are not included.
Quantity
(Units)
Total value
Aircraft 8
MIG-15/17 jet fighter 8
Naval craft 2
class motor gunboat 2
P-6 class motor torpedo boat
Nuchwan-class hydrofoil motor
torpedo boat
Other
Armor
T-34 medium tank 25
Artillery c/ M
57-mm antiaircraft 100
37-mm antiaircraft 200
14.5-i antiaircraft
Field gun (76-100 mm) ~0
Radar U
Trucks and other vehicles d/ 600
Small arms and other infantry weapons
(metric tons) 6.000
Ammunition
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