SOVIETS' 9-SHIP SHOW IMPRESSED MOST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100190021-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 28, 2011
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: April 18, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100190021-1.,TAT
WASHINGTON TIMES
18 April 1985
show
9-ship
Soviets'
impressed most
By Walter Andrews
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A just-completed Soviet naval
exercise was the largest ever held in
the Pacific, and apparently was for
the purpose of a mock attack against
U.S. ships approaching nuclear sub-
marine pens in the eastern Soviet
Union, U.S. Navy sources said yes-
terday.
The nine-ship exercise led by the
37,000-ton aircraft carrier Novoros-
siysk was "the most extensive and
realistic ever conducted by the
Soviet Navy in the Pacific;' said an
official who commented on condi-
tion of anonymity. .
U.S. naval intelligence has con-
cluded that the purpose of the task
force was to simulate a U.S. carrier
battle group approaching the east-
ern Soviet Union so Soviet sea and
air forces could conduct mock
attacks, the sources said.
The unusually large number of
Soviet ships and the manner in
which they maneuvered "indicate
the exercise was a simulation of
Soviet-wartime missions, including
protection of ballistic missile sub-
marine operating areas in the
Northwest Pacific and Sea of
Okhotsk;' the source said.
He said the Soviet exercise was "a
marked departure" from the normal
peacetime Soviet deployment pat-
tern, in which warships travel in
groups of twos and threes, and in '
which only 10 to 15 percent of the
fleet is at sea at one time.
I Ott Tuesday, the sources said the
Soviet ships passed through La
Perousse (or Soya) Strait into the
northern Sea of Japan apparently on
the way back to their home port. of
Vladivostok, which they left in late
March.
Last Friday. the Soviets flew
TU-95 reconnaissance aircraft over
the simulated U.S. battle group,
apparently. in preparation for a
mock attack Sunda b v t -
range Backfire bombers, the
sources said.
Soviet submarines also conducted
mock attacks on the task force, the
sources said.
Partly because of its unusual size,
the U.S. Navy has been keeping
track of the fleet ever since it left
Vladivostok several weeks ago.
In addition to the Novorossiysk,
the task force consists of three
9,700-ton Kara-class missile
cruisers, a 6,000-ton Kresta-class
missile cruiser, two Krivak-class
destroyers and two oil-supply ships.
During the first part of April, the
task force conducted maneuvers
south of Okinawa in the Philippine
Sea. These included anti-submarine
warfare exercises and "maritime
strike training;' that is, simulated
attacks by V/STOL fighters against
ships.
About 10 days ago, the naval
sources said, the task force sur-
prised U.S. observers by heading
east toward the Hawaiian Islands. In
the middle of last week, when it was
about 1,600 nautical miles northwest
of Honolulu, the force turned
northwest toward the Soviet Union.
The changes in direction as well
as the size and make-up of the group
immediately caused naval intelli-
gence to suspect t he Soviets were
mimicking a U.S. carrier battle
group.
The Novorossiysk is one of only
three Soviet Kiev-class carriers
capable of carrying vertical/short-
takeoff and landing fighter aircraft.
The V/STOL "jump jets" are consid-
ered less capable than regular jet
fighters, which require the larger
landing surface of the giant.
80,000-ton U.S. carriers.
The Soviets are building a
65000-ton carrier capable of
launching and landing regular les,
Out U.S. intelligence has not vet iden-
tified a new let aircraft being devel-
oped for use on the new carrier.
The Pentagon's latest edition of
Soviet Military Power, made public.
April 2, said the growth of the Soviet
Navy over the last 20 years gives it
an ability to support Soviet interests
worldwide to an extent unmatched
by the other military services. .
. It said all the Soviet nuclear mis-
sile submarines are assigned to the
Pacific and Northern fleets, which
would have a primary concern* for
protecting these valuable weapons.
Meanwhile, in 'Ibkyo, press and
diplomatic sources said it was the
first time in five years that the
Soviet Union had assembled such a
large task force near Japan and the
first time it had done so in the cen-
tral Pacific.
The recent maneuvers came just
as the Air Force deployed the first of
what is scheduled to be two
squadrons of F-16 fighter aircraft at
Misawa Air Base in northern Japan.
A 1982 agreement between Wash-
ington and Tbkyo stipulated the F-16
I d?ployment would begin this year,
1 leading military analysts in Japan to
speculate the recent Soviet manru-
-vers were at least partly intended as
a countermeasure.
A commentary carried Monday
by the Soviet Communist Party
newspaper Pravda warned of "the.
threat from Misawa;' and said Mos-
cow would move to counter the new
fighters.
The'Soviet Union filed an' offical
protest in 1982 over Japans decision
then to accept the U.S. deployment.
The 1982 agreement came as a
result of Japanese and U.S. concern
over what was seen a substantial
increase in Moscow's air and naval
power in the Far East. U.S. and Jap-
anese officials now say that cap-
ability has increased at a still
greater pace since the agreement.
Following the F-16 deployment,
efforts to
ed u
t
l
p
so s
epp
Moscow a
improve diplomatic relations with
Japan.
Earlier this week Peter
Abrasimov, the Kremlin's ambassa-
dor to'Ibkyo, told Japanese newsmen
improvement in bilateral relations
could be made if Japan is prepared
to take the first step.
The ambassador suggested a visit
by Foreign Minister Andrei: Gro-
myko could occur as early as-"this
year if Japan takes the initiative in
finalizing a cultural agreement.
Japan over the last two years has
repeatedly sought a visit by Mr. Gro-
myko. ? .
Washington Times Foreign Serv-
ice correspondent Timothy Elder
contributed to this article from
7bkyo.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100190021-1