# United States/Soviet Military Balance

> Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more.

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3AIB78029

## Record

- **Collection:** Congressional research report
- **Document type:** CRS Report
- **Published:** January 4, 1982
- **Citation:** IB78029

## Text

UNITED STATES/SOVIET MILITARY BALANCE
(ARCHIVED--12/03/81)
ISSUE BRIEF NUMBER IB78029

AUTHOR:
C o l l i n s , J o h n M.
S e n i o r S p e c i a l i s t in N a t i o n a l D e f e n s e
S e v e r n s , E l i z a b e t h Ann
R e f e r e n c e A s s i s t a n t , Office of S e n i o r S p e c i a l i s t s

T H E L I B R A R Y OF C O N G R E S S
CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE
KAJOR ISSUES SYSTEM

DATE ORIGINATED 03/20/78
D A T E .UPDATED 0 1 / 0 4 / 8 2

F O R A D C I T I G N A L I N F O R K A T I O N CALL 2 8 7 - 5 7 0 0
0406

CRS- 1

ISSUE DEFINITION
American military
competence
spanned a much larger functional
and
geographic sphere i n support of security interests than Soviet armed services
could cover for the Kremlin b e f o r e the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.
U.S.
forces have registered many improvements since that time, but their relative
decline has been dramatic when compared with Soviet counterparts.
President Kennedy told MOSCOW i n 1962 to remove i t s ballistic missiles
from C u b a or face U.S. military action.
S o v i e t Premier Khrushchev
complied.
President Carter, who flatly stated that "the status quo i s not acceptable,"
asked Moscow to remove its c o m b a t brigade i n October
1 9 7 9 , and Soviet
President Brezhnev
refused.
T h o s e confrontations, s f course, a r e not
strictly analogous, but the s h i f t i n strength since the first showdown has
clearly reinforced U.S. risks a r o u n d the world and reduced our room for
maneuver.
T h i s brief sketches the situation in 1 9 6 0 before the Soviet buildup began,
depicts the present balance, a n d identifies s o m e significant issues f o r U.S.
defense decisionmakers.
(See statistical tables a t the end of this text.)

BACKGROUND AND POLICY ANALYSIS

BALANCE BEFORE T H E CUBAN MISSILE CRISPS

T h e U.S./Soviet military balance was not bad from our standpoint in 1960.
This country's deterrent threats and defensive contingents were credible in
most respects.
America's main a i m , called containment, accepted the status quo a t that
time.
We lacked means to retake lost territory, but U.S. military
services,
in concert with a l l i e s , were sufficient t o safeguard the Free World from
Soviet armed aggression.
Strategic Air Command (SAC) possessed unparalleled powers, when
ballistic
missiles on both s i d e s were neither numerous nor very accurate.
Its bombers
could burst through the pervious screen that protected o u r opponent, but the
small force of Soviet
Bears
and
Bisons
would
have
found
U-S.
defenses-in-depth much more difficult.
Medium-range
Badgers could strike
American targets on one-way s u i c i d e missions only if they f l e w high to
conserve fuel.
T h a t shortcoming k e p t them vulnerable, i n full view of U.S.
and Canadian surveillance systems.
Our
"short-legged"
B-47s, which were
forward-based o r programmed f o r in-flight refueling, could make fairly
lengthy low-level bomb runs beneath Soviet radar fans and below
the best
fields of fire for their surface-to-air missiles (SAMSs).
Nuclear supremacy also underpinned U.S. strategy in Europe.
No pressing
Soviet military threat was apparent in other theaters.
Moscow could not
employ medium- and
intermediate-range ballistic missiles
(MRBMs, IRBMs)

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IB78029

UPDATE-01/04/82

against NATO's tempting center sector without
risking retaliatory strikes
against critical targets in Russia.
NATO, conversely, could tolerate
conventional inferiority in land formations, because theater nuclear weapons
still could take up the slack.
Inflexible Soviet forces were clearly outclassed i n every other category.
U.S. tactical air forces were far superior to Frontal Aviation, which
promised poor support for fast-moving offensive operations if Red Army
logistics failed to fold first.
Gorshkov's coastal navy could not yet
contest our control of the seas.
His submarines might have been able to cut
U.S. lines of communication to Europe, but with minor implications, because
NATO's reinforcement and resupply requirements reputedly were of reduced
moment.
Massive nuclear retaliation would conclude any conflict quickly,
according to U.S. concepts, without resort to costly attrition in the air or
on the ground.
In short, U.S. Armed Services, assisted by allies, held Soviet forces in
check across the conflict spectrum. Reserves were on tap to contend with
contingencies where the Kremlin could not reach.

BALANCE IN 1981
Few trends that typify the U.S./Soviet
military
balance
perspective have been positive for the past two decades.

from

America's

STRATEGIC NUCLEAR TRENDS
U.S. nuclear capabilities have passed through three distinct stages
1960. Each was less adaptable than its predecessor.

since

The current version features far fewer realistic options than its first
forerunner, largely because we now lack any Credible means of controlling
escalation and can no longer protect either the American people or our
production base.
U.S. threats of massive retaliation comprised a believable
brake when our side enjoyed nuclear superiority in almost every sense, but
whether we mean business is a big question today.
U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBMs) and bombers are more
vulnerable to attack than ever before.
That condition erodes the stability
of our national security, even though no current combination of Soviet
assaults could smother the two systems simultaneously.
Soviet counterparts
are comparatively
secure,
because
of
our
second-strike
strategy.
Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) on both sides are still safe a t
sea, given the current state of the art in antisubmarine warfare
(ASW),
although that situation conceivably could change with little notice.
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
The present and projected balance between U.S. and Soviet ICBMs creates
two central consequences. One involves the pre-launch survival of undefended
American missiles.
The other concerns comparative capabilities to attack and
destroy land-based ICBMs.

CRS- 3
Pre-Launch Survival Prospects
Most authorities agree that Soviet ICBMs will pose substantial threats t o
Th e k e y questions a r e not whether
S.
Tita n and Minu temen m issiles in th
wit h a first strike, o nly when they
the Soviet s co uld eve ntually crush
eri OUS ly that situatio n af feets U.S.
coul d achi eve t h a t c a pability, and
security.
Installing more U - S . ICBMs would prove impractical, because
the Soviets
could add hard target warheads much faster than w e could build silos and f i l l
them with missiles, a t a fraction of the cost.
Reinforcing U.S. silos f a c e s
finite limitations, such a s the ultimate compressive strength of concrete,
Launch-on-warning would
jmprove survivability only if our alert system
remained intact.
Should i t f a i l for any reason, including Soviet a c t i o n ,
chances a r e slim that any decision to launch could be m a d e , much l e s s
implemented, in t h e f e w minutes available.
Substituting s o m e sort of semi-mobile land-based missile system for a l l o r
part of our stationary
ICMBs, therefore, is under active considerationCosts would be Considerable but, because mobile missiles a r e more difficult
to hit than those in silos, t h e r e would be no need to replace Minutemen o n a
one-for-one basis.
Deterrent properties of a l l concepts under consideration depend o n
proliferating,
rather than removing., aim points.
Rivals, faced
with
prospects of expending huge numbers of nuclear weapons without assurance of
preventing U.S.
response, presumably would find risk-versus-gain ratios
poor.
Should that assumption, however, prove f a l s e , the s i d e effects o f
saturation a t t a c k s , especially fallout, could create more problems than they
solve.
The search for a faster, cheaper, more effective fix thus may
remain i n
the offing.
Fresh looks a t free mobility models, l a n d , sea, and air, could
be among the options.
See Issue Brief 77046 for detailed discussion.
Countersilo Capabilities
America's I C B M s , constrained by our second-strike strategy, would n o t
likely match Moscow's countersilo capabilities, even if w e deployed bigger
missiles, more multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles
(MIRVs),
and greater accuracy, a l l of which a r e properties of MX.
Should the S o v i e t s , after conducting a first strike, choose to launch
reserve ICBMs on warning, our warheads could destroy superhard silos, but n o t
before the missiles in them took flight.
Such action actually
could i n v i t e
additional devastation in the United States.
Catching a f e w Soviet reserves
in their silos and preventing refirings from "cold launch" facilities would
afford slight comfort in such circumstances.
"Essential e q u i v a l e n c e r n i s
short, would remain elusive even if U.S.
and Soviet ICBM holdings w e r e
precisely the same in quantities and technical characteristics.

Strategic Air Power
The U.S. accent on strategic air power- i s still strong. Soviet stress h a s
been slight since the Cuban missile
crisis, although supersonic Backfire
bombers, which began to deploy i n 1 9 7 5 , cause increasing ContrGVerSy.
The

CRS- 4
present bomber balance affects U.S. force requirements in two
ways:
one concerns perceptions; the other concerns security.
Backfire Bombers Related to U.S.

significant

Bombers

Soviet Backfire bombers may have some bearing o n U.S. needs for improved
air defense, but are unrelated to our offensive force requirements.
Backfire
squadrons, which
currently contribute less to Soviet strategic nuclear
capabilities than forward-based fighters add to o u r s , could double in number
or disappear without diluting any advantages that accrue from Strategic Air
Command's aircraft. Manned bombers may indeed be a legitimate leg of the
U.S. triad, but maintaining superiority, essential equivalence, or any other
balance with Backfires wquld serve some symbolic purpose, nothing more.
Bombers Replaced by Cruise Missiles
President Carter on June 30, 1 9 7 7 , disclosed
his decision to cancel
prospective production of B-1 bombers, which were scheduled to strengthen our
triad in the 1980s. The Pentagon anticipates converting 151 B-52Gs to carry
20 air-launched cruise missiles (A.LCMs) apiece, for a total of 3,020 weapons.
Only about 7 5 B-52s will be modernized to improve penetration
probabilities
against future Soviet surface-to-air missiles
(SAMs)
and
interceptor
aircraft.
Implications of that determination are subject to debate.
Cruise missile
technology tactics are still uncertain.
Proposed B-52 modification programs
pfesent many problems.
Most important, abilities of U.S. ALCMS to penetrate
Soviet defenses-in-depth is in dispute.
In the final analysis, therefore, U.S. security will be well served by
substituting ALCMs for aircraft only if satisfactory capabilities can be
deployed at acceptable costs in time to support stated strategy.
If not, our
deterrent could suffer.

STRATEGIC DEFENSE PROBLEMS
CONUS (Continental United States) defense plays almost no part in U.S.
nuclear strategy. Deterrence depends almost entirely on powers to survive
preemptive strikes, then savage the aggressor.
The Soviets conversely seek
to develop credible safeguards.
A
"vulnerability
gap"
of
disputed
proportions consequently grows.
Analysts a t one end of the spectrum contend
that Soviet air and civil
defense abilities, abetted by detailed plans, psychological conditioning, and
physical preparations, already degrade U.S. deterrence and place this country
in peril.
Some noted U.S.
specialists speculate that crisis relocation
general war,
procedures would limit Soviet fatalities to 4 or 5% during a
under Worst-case Conditions.
Official estimates indicate that almost half
require medical
the American people would die, and another 35 million would
attention.
If those casualty ratios were even close to correct, U.S.
capability to deter attack would indeed be "a myth," as some claim, since
U.S. deterrence is predicated on an "assured destructionw capability, meaning
the ability to inflict unacceptable damage on an aggressor.
draw less
drastic conclusions.
Most concede that the

CRS- 5
Skeptics d r a w less drastic conclusions. Most concede that the Kremlin
stresses city defense, but doubt that U.S.
deterrence i s i n danger.
One
I t s f o l l o w e r s believe
faction, f o r example, sees this a s a spurious issue.
t h a t nuclear blasts can break through the best protection.
O t h e r s , whose
opinions a r e widely shared, suspect that Soviet defensive capabilities, while
significant, a r e overstated.
U.S. over-reaction, they contend, could be just
a s ruinous a s complacency.
Nevertheless, students of the subject seem to agree that S o v i e t active a n d
to create a
survivability
passive defenses in combination ape beginning
imbalance t h a t f a v o r s t h e Soviets.
~ s s e r t i o n sthat they soon could survive a
general war a p p e a r premature, but long-term consequences could be severe if
t h e trend proceeds too far.
Civil defense would a s s u m e a completely
in
different connotation,
if
accompanied
by
Soviet
breakthroughs
antisubmarine o r antiballistic missile (ASW, ABM) warfare.
Active defense i n
that case would provide the primary shield.
Civil d e f e n s e , a s part of a
strategic d e f e n s i v e triad, would simply serve a s a backstop.
Any amalgam that allowed the Soviets t o evade "assured destruction," while
America s t i l l could not, would, in f a c t , a l l o w them to satisfy t h e true aim
of strategy, which i s "not s o much to seek battle a s to seek a...situation s o
advantageous t h a t if i t d o e s not of itself produce the
desired
decision,
i t s continuation by a battle i s sure t o a c h i e v e this."
Stated s u c c i n c t l y , the side that solves defensive equations first would
attain true nuclear superiority, expressed in terms of s u r v i v a l prospects
despite the rival's r a w destructive power.
Supremacy without d e f e n s e a p p e a r s
to be unattainable regardless of offensive numbers, a s long a s each side c a n
devastate o r destroy the other.

GENERAL PURPOSE FORCE T R E N D S
U.S. g e n e r a l purpose f o r c e s have developed quite differently
counterparts.

than

Soviet

Soviet l e a d e r s , w h o implicitly prefer a P r i n c i p l e of War called "Mass,"
rarely r e d u c e f o r c e levels, and winnow o u t stocks only when they cease to
s e r v e useful purposes.
U.S. defense decisionmakers a r e partial t o "Economy
o f Force." Q u a l i t y , not quantity, i s considered essential.
America's armed
services consequently a r e cut severely a f t e r every war.
Outmoded weapons
customarily r e t i r e when n e w ones enter t h e inventory.
Soviet strength thus dilates, even when o u r s declines.
U.S.
this stage c a n no longer compensate completely for t h e lack of
caused by quantitative inferiority.

quality a t
flexibility

GROUND F O R C E P R O B L E M S
Huge conscript ground forces a r e t h e traditional source of Soviet general
purpose f o r c e strength. Other services a r e subsidiary, despite the emergence
of a modern a i r f o r c e and navy.
The much smaller U.S. Army a n d Marine Corps
currently consist of volunteers.
Quantitative gaps that f a v o r the S o v i e t
Union a r e g r e a t i n nearly every category.

CRS- 6

U.S.

Strengths

Our Army has access to firepower unprecedented
stabilized turrets and night sights can attack
daylight or darkness.
What they see, they can
antitank weapons not only exceed
the range of
possess penetration powers that outpaced opposing

in the past.
Tanks with
targets on the move, in
generally
stop.
Our TOW
Soviet tank cannons, but
armor by the mid-1970s.

Improved artillery ammunition can cause up to four times as many personnel
casualties per round a s conventional high explosives could i n past conflicts.
Projectiles with time-delay submunitions extend suppression capabilities for
protracted periods after impact. Laser range finders for forward observers
reduce target estimation errors from 400 meters
to about 1 0 , hugely
increasing probabilities of first-round hits.
Response times have been
cut
from minutes to seconds.
Precision-guided
artillery projectiles, when
perfected, should cause a quantum
jump in destructive power.
Land mine
lethality has increased dramatically in this decade.
U.S.

Shortcomings

There are points, however, beyond which mass matters more than excellence.
The U.S. Army has just 16 active divisions.
The Marine Corps has three.
A
fourth of our Army divisions lack one regular brigade.
Others lack one or
more active maneuver battalions.
Readiness is reduced, even though reserve
component "roundouts" train part time with Regular Army
divisions.
Only a
few of those 19 divisions are free 'for contingency purposes without slighting
commitments and spreading the force very thin.
Eight Army National Guard and one Marine Corps Reserve divisions complete
the U.S.
complement of major maneuver units.
Nine o r ten weeks of
post-mobilization training would be needed to bring armored and mechanized
divisions up to minimum combat standards, after they were called to active
duty following the declaration of a national emergency, which can be
designated only by the President or Congress. Consequently, they are poorly
prepared to participate in any
"come as you are party," such as those
contemplated by our Rapid Deployment Force (RDF).
Soviet ground
forces, in contrast, retain a comfortable cushion of
reserves that could create multiple contingencies on call.
Seven airborne
divisions in
first-class
shape
afford
special
flexibility.
U.S.
decisionmakers would
find it difficult to determine priorities if the
Politburo brought things to a boil around Berlin, encouraged a crisis in
Korea, and simultaneously made military motions toward the Middle East.
Successful feints could spoil U.S. plans to suppor-t friends under fire, or
forestall U.S. action until too late, if we feared premature
commitment of
our few divisions in strategic reserve would
expose the true point of
decision.
The Doctrinal Dilemma
Few forces, coupled with seccnd-strike, selective containment policies,
dictate a defensive doctrine for our Army at the onset of any conflict
against numerically
superior Soviet forces or the Warsaw Pact.
U.S.
times
commanders are advised to Concentrate winning combinations at proper
and places, "using reserves from the rearw and forces "from less threatened

CRS-

7

IB78O29

UPCATE-01/04/82

at
the
f l a n k s , " which remain l i g h t l y covered.
Should concentration occur
Delaying
wrong s p o t , t h e m i s s i o n i s t o r e d i r e c t m o b i l e e l e m e n t s i m m e d i a t e l y .
combat o p e r a t i o n s ,
would
be i n
a c t i o n s , t h e most d i f f i c u l t of a l l ground
demand.

C r i t i c s , who d e p l o r e d o c t r i n a l a C ~ 0 m ~ O d a t i Oonf ~ t h a t s o r t ,
suggest that
U.S. d e c i s i o n m a k e r s w o u l d d o w e l l t o " r e d e s i g n . . - o u r m i l i t a r y f o r c e p o s t u r e
encourage a "can-don
a n d p o s s i b l y o u r d i p l o m a t i c c o m m i t m e n t s , " r a t h e r thaw
a t t i t u d e i n t h e Army t h a t r i s k s a l m o s t c e r t a i n d e f e a t
if
committed a g a i n s t
massed S o v i e t f o r c e s i n Europe o r t h e Middle E a s t .
T A C T I C A L A I R FORCE PROBLEMS

America's t a c t i c a l air combat a s s e t s f u r n i s h f l e x i b i l i t y n o t a v a i l a b l e t o
t h e S o v i e t Union, whose F r o n t a l A v i a t i o n ( r o u g h l y e q u i v a l e n t t o o u r Tactical
A i r Command, U.S. A i r
Force Europe,
and
Pacific A i r
Force)
is largely
c o n f i n e d t o t h e E u r a s i a n l a n d mass.
Our c l e a r q u a l i t a t i v e e d g e i s
still
e v i d e n t i n most r e s p e c t s , a l t h o u g h t h e gap i s c l o s i n g .
Small s i z e , however, c r e a t e s a n " A c h i l l e s h e e l w f o r America.
A
fairly
small p r o p o r t i o n of
our a c t i v e forces remain unfettered.
Reserves
can
air
r e s p o n d i n most c a s e s o n l y a f t e r C o n g r e s s i o n a P a p p r o v a l .
U.S.
tactical
combat power c o n s e q u e n t l y c o u l d c o p e w i t h
a single large-scale
conflict
a g a i n s t any non-Soviet f o e , b u t t h i s Country's c r i t i c a l
i n t e r e s t s elsewhere
c o u l d s t a r t t o come u n c o v e r e d .
Soviet
Q u a n t i t a t i v e s h o r t a g e s c o u l d p r o v e c r i t i c a l i n a showdown w i t h t h e
U n i o n , s i n c e "many-on-onew s e e m s t o b e Moscow's r u l e .
T h e f e w U.S. a i r c r a f t ,
compared with F r o n t a l Aviation, w i l l f i n d i t i n c r e a s i n g l y p e r i l d u s t o compete
i f current trends continue.
Soviet mobile air defenses f u r t h e r undercut
our
capabilities.
P r o j e c t e C U.S.

procurement programs do l i t t l e t o b r i g h t e n t h e p i c t u r e .

G E N E R A L PURPOSE N A V Y PROBLEMS

S e a power i s a n e c e s s i t y f o r t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s .
and l a r g e , a r e l e s s compelling.

Soviet

naval

needs,

by

C o m m e r c e , a l w a y s a U.S. t r a d i t i o n , a s s u m e s a s a l i e n t
r o l e as d w i n d l i n g
n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s i n c r e a s e o u r dependence on
other
countries for
critical
supplies.
P e t r o l e u m p r o d u c t s a r e most p u b l i c i z e d , b u t f o r e i g n m i n e r a l s a r e
a l s o i m p o r t a n t t o America.
R o u t e s must t h e r e f o r e be
secured f o r
friendly
merchant
ships under adverse
conditions.
Essential
sea
lines
of
communication must a l s o be k e p t open i n wartime t o e n s u r e t h e f r e e f l o w of
m i l i t a r y f o r c e s and l o g i s t i c s u p p o r t between
America,
its allies,
and/or
contested areas.
T h e S o v i e t U n i o n , w i t h f a r f e w e r r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r f o r e i g n raw m a t e r i a l s
a n d i n t r i n s i c i n t e r e s t s t h a t c e n t e r on t h e
Eurasian
l a n d mass,
has
only
r e c e n t l y begun t o b r e a k o u t of i t s c o n t i n e n t a l cocoon.
Its
Navy
is
still
c a s t as a s p o i l e r t h a t e m p h a s i z e s n e g a t i v e s e a d e n i a l , r a t h e r
than
positive
sea assertion capabilities.

CRS- 8

IB78029

UPDATE-01/04/82

The "Neww Soviet Navy
The modern Soviet Navy is an innovative Service consciously designed to
serve Soviet purposes rather than match its U.S.
counterpart.
Its focus
since the early 1960s has shifted from coastal defense to sea-based
deterrence in peacetime and power projection in event of nuclear,war. Such a
transformation in such a short space of time is close to unprecedented.
The "new9' Soviet Navy suffers from several chronic shortcomings that it
shares with the "oldw. All Soviet surface ships, for example, would have to
contend with lack of air cover if they swept far from friendly shores.
and-based
bombers
for
area
defense
are
poor
substitutes
for
defenses-in-depth that feature carrier-based fighters.
Soviet naval forces are also short on stamina, except for late-model ships
such as K i e v , Kara, and Krivak.
Small surface combatants, lacking large fuel
capacities or nuclear power, have limited ranges.
Restricted
space for
rations, ammunition, and other stores prohibit prolonged operations without
resupply.
Merchant
tankers routinely refuel' Soviet ships a t sea, and
trawlers serve some logistic purposes, but underway replenishment procedures
are substandard compared with U.S. skills.
Lengthy, large-scale operations
would be next to impossible in sea areas remote from friendly port
facilities.
Strengths, however, may well outweigh those weaknesses.
Tactical strike capabilities of the new Soviet Navy
Center on cruise
missiles, which Fleet Admiral
Sergei G. Gorshkov feels are llpractically
unstoppable1' against floating targets.
As
he
sees
it,
not
even
well-screened, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers could withstand assaults
"delivered by a group of ships armed with cruise missiles."
Soviet attack submarines outnumber U.S.
contingents by more than 3:l.
Most are diesel-powered, and many are well past their prime, but 76 were
fitted to fire anti-ship cruise missiles in January 1981.
Tubes totalled
432. Papa and Charlie classes can shoot from submerged positions.
All
Classes carry torpedoes for close combat.
Thirty-three U.S.
submarines
mounted 1 3 2 Harpoon launchers.
They are substantially outranged.
Cruise Missile Threat to U.S.

Surface Navy

More than f i f t e e n - sorts of Soviet surface warships, submarines, and
aircraft carry at least one kind of cruise missile.
Soviet strategy seems
a single killing salvo.
designed to seize and secure initiative with
Missile-carrying surface ships, submarines, and aircraft, moving without
tactical formation, could trigger surprise, preemptive
strikes on signal,
converging on targets from many
directions, and perhaps
from point-blank
range.
U.S. sea control tactics traditionally try to destroy enemy weapons before
they endanger our ships. First strike assaults by Soviet cruise missiles,
launched a t close range, could make that approach obsolete.
Our Navy as yet has no satisfactory solution. Current ship-launched
SAMs
would be essentially ineffective against concerted attacks.
The time from
detection to target engagement is excessive and coordination among missile
batteries on different ships is poor.
These difficulties are compounded by

CRS- 9

IB78029

UPDATE-01/04/82

SAM vulnerability to electronic counter-measures.
Even Phoenix-armed
F-14s'
which can engage six targets simultaneously, a r e subject to easy s a t u r a t i o n
if large-scale a t t a c k s box t h e compass.

Threats to Merchant Shipping
Successful A S W operations depend on a b i l i t i e s to f i n d , f i x , a n d f i n i s h
enemy undersea raiders before they can wreak
heavy damage.
Prospects for
U.S. success a r e more favorable than they w e r e a f e w y e a r s a g o , b u t
breakthroughs i n detection a r e still i n t h e blueprint stage.
Beyond
that,
the small size of America's specialized f o r c e causes concern.
ASW i s mainly
a time-consuming matter of a t t r i t i o n , in which numbers c o u n t m o r e and m o r e a s
friendly losses mount.
Some authorities conclude that A m e r i c a a t most m i g h t
sink 20% of a l l opposing submarines before
t h e Soviets took
serious t o l l
a m o n g merchantmec.
Consequently, Soviet capacities t o i n t e r f e r e with U.S.
lifelines a t s e a could prove to be low-cost, low-risk
o p e r a t i o n s under
certain c i r c u m s t a n c e s , a t least a s long a s a "Mexican s t a n d o f f w persists a t
strategic nuclear levels.

T h e Upshot
a
America's
Navy,
which
matches
a
three-ocean
mission
with
one-and-a-half-ocean capability, i s marginally capable o f c a r r y i n g o u t i t s
mission i n s u p p o r t of national strategy.
Its forces are stretched so thin
that further peacetime forward deployments could be a t t a i n e d o n l y a t g r e a t
expense to personnel and equipment by drawing down reserves t o a d a n g e r o u s
an
extent o r uncovering existing commitments.
Wartime a t t r i t i o n
is
unpropitious prospect.
Serious s t u d e n t s of naval strategy sum u p t h e current situation with
succinct statement:
the U.S. Navy n o w enters a n era of r e d u c e d o p t i o n s
reinforced risk.

one
and

AMPHIBIOUS ABILITIES
T h e U.S. Marine Corps, with a total personnel strength s l i g h t l y exceeding
1 8 8 , 0 0 0 , comprises three active and o n e r e s e r v e d i v i s i o n s , together w i t h
associated a i r wings and combat/service
support.
Six naval
infantry
regiments, the closest Soviet counterpart, contain fewer than 2,000 men e a c h ,
with minimum f i r e support.
Comparative power projection possibilities,
lopsided a s t h a t picture seems to paint.

however,

are

not

quite

as

U.S. a m p h i b i o u s assault abilities a r e strictly abridged by t h e s h o r t a g e o f
15%
specialized sealift. Current a s s e t s a r e confined to 61 s h i p s , of which
a r e normally in overhaul.
T h a t level i s sufficient for short-notice l a n d i n g s
team would
by battalions a n d brigades, but a single Marine division/wing
a b s o r b all but f o u r operational ships, which a r e scattered from Manila to t h e
Mediterranean.
Lead times for assembly would be long, and
combat losses
irreplaceable.
Prepositioned supplies o n ships alleviate
lift requirements
to some extent, but a r e no substitute for amphibious a s s a u l t capabilities.

Amphibious sealift for Soviet naval infantry features coastal landing
craft, along with the Ivan Rogov (an LPD) and 25 LSTs.
That shortcoming
makes long-distance operations infeasible for the full force, but t h e
combination is well-suited for commando-style raids and amphibious assaults
close to Soviet flanks.
Reinforcements, if required, could arrive o n
merchant ships.

MOBILITY TRENDS

Intercontinental lift over open oceans is a U.S.
essential.
Russian
requirements thus far have been more regional.
Dissimilar demands, coupled
with policy peculiarities and geographic circumstance, consequently foster
mobility force structures that are quite different in size as well a s
composition,
U.S. AIRLIFT PROBLEMS
America's air mobility means are still peerless, in large part because our
Defense Department has accented "airlift enhancementw programs
since the
early 1960s. Soviet counterparts are improving, but present capabilities a r e
comparable only along that country's periphery.
Still, 70 C-5s, the only aircraft that can carry outsize cargo, constrain
our abilities to meet NATO reinforcement/resupply
schedules or to support
rapid deployment forces, say, in the Middle East.
They are complemented by
234 C-141s.
No more of either type are being manufactureb.
Losses from
combat attrition or maintenance failures thus are irreplaceable.
U.S.
tactical airlift assets, long the world's best, a r e showing signs of age.
U.S. SEALIFT PROBLEMS
U.S. sealift consistently
gets short shrift.
Interest i n the 1960s
Centered on quick reaction instead of sustained support, but f e w funds were
forthcoming for forces afloat, even for that purpose.
Assets, which
reached
their apogee during World War 1 1 , consequently have been on a for three
decades.

The conversion has been from many ships to few; from military
ships to
civilian carriers; from U.S. ships to foreign flags; from general cargo to
container ships; from small, adaptable ships to large ones whose applications
are limited.
Our "mothball" fleet, which served well d u r i n g - t h e Vietnam War',
is seriously depleted. Those trends in combination make
it infeasible f o r
Military Sealift Command (MSC) and the U.S.
Merchant Marine to satisfy
large-scale contingency requirements without massive aid
from
allies.
Sealift "dehancement" continues as a long-term trend.
The balance between Soviet strategic airlift and sealift is precisely
opposite.
Moscow's merchant fleet, already much
larger than our own, is
increasing capabilities at a rapid rate.
Ship characteristics are chosen
carefully to serve politico-military as well as economic purposes, especially
in areas where large, specialized vessels can not conveniently venture.

COM?ARATPVE FLEXIBILITY
Composite Soviet mobility forces are sufficient to influence a range of
low-key contingencies in widely-separated areas, from Angola to Afghanistan,
but airlift/sea%ift shortages are still strong limiting factors for major
military o'perations almost anywhere outside the home country o r contiguous
satellites.
airlift
Quickand
efficient logistic support for allies is a U.S.
specialty. M A C s s squadrons also afford laudable (although limited) means of
reinforcing forward deployed forces rapidly or shifting sizable combat power
anywhere in the world.
Apparent flexibility, however, is conditioned by the
dearth of merchant shipping, which makes
i t almost impossible to sustain
major efforts without allied assistance.
That combination calls for caution
under most conceivable circumstances, since aid is not assured.

OVERARCHING POLICY PROBLEMS
Two overarching policy problems inhibit
just described.

solutions

to

U.S.

shortcomings

BUDGETARY BREAKOUTS
The price tag for U.S. manpower dedicated to defense has been the dominant
budgetary factor influencing the configuration and flexibility of America's
conventional forces during the past decade, given fiscal constraints imposed
by official policy.
Inflation, coupled with attempts to compete with
domestic pay scales, caused most of the problem.
A retiree population
expanding exponentially also contributed.
The biggest budgetary
boost came
i n Nov. 1971, to start our All-Volunteer Force (AVF) off on the proper
foot.
Pay and allowances alone (including civilians) absorbed more than half of
DOD's money for several years, before that proportion
subsided somewhat.
Percentage expenses for manpower, including outlays devoted
to recruiting,
construction, and dependent care, have stabilized, but costs continue to
climb in response to periodic pay raises.
(Pay for an entry-level
enlisted
man or woman now is $501 a month, as opposed to $21 for counterparts in the
pre-World-War-I1 AVF.
Soviet recruits receive an amount roughly equivalent
to $5.50 a month.)
Cumulative consequences currently cause personnel to
consume about 5 0 cents of every defense dollar.
Inescapable
expenditures
for
non-manpower-related
operations
an8
maintenance (O&M) approximate 15 cents more, a percentage
that has proved
inadequate, given budgetary restrictuions i n recent years.
U.S. readiness to
implement contingency plans is subject to serious criticism a s a consequence.
The remaining third must be split between procurement
programs, which
shape our present posture, research and development
(R&D) which, in large
part, determines our strength tomorrow, and military
construction.
The
implications are inimical, because the Soviet Union devotes a much
smaller
proportion of its defense budget to manpower than the United States. Perhaps
20% is a fair approximation.
Moscow, therefore, could afford a larger force
and modernize a t more rapid rates if its total defense budget were exactly
the same as that of the United States, since a much greater
share of its
money can be spent on nachi3es.

DECLINING DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY
The United States starts with the world's richest reservoir of scientific
resources.
Constant feedback between civil and military markets encourages
entrepreneurism and technological chain reactions not remotely equalled by
our Russian rival.' As a result, options still closed to the Soviets are
completely open to us.
This country's predominance, however, shows signs of
makes many intellectuals lament our lack of momentum.

perishability

that

Causes include uncertain goals that make it troublesome to chart a sound
course for defense technology.
Insistence on practical
products
is
pronounced.
Fund requests for abstract research are frequently cut or
cancelled. Sharp fiscal caution extends to other R&D
sectors.
Consequent
tendencies to tolerate few failures sometimes impede rapid progress.
Basic Research
U.S. superiority in basic research still seems substantial.
Clearly excells in 2 4 bellweather programs, the Soviets in 14:

This

country

Present Status
United States Superior
Lead Solid
13
Lead Shaky
Total

Soviet Union Superior
Lead Solid
14
0
Lead Shaky
Total
14

America's temporary purchase, however, is no 'cause for complacency.
The
U.S. lead is solid in Only slightly more than half of those cases (13 out of
24).
Opposing scientists, who are closing the gap in 1 1 , protect Soviet
primacy in every instance.
Relative U.S./Soviet ranks would reverse if straight-line
those trends continued:

projections

of

Projected Status
United States Superior
Present Lead Solid 13
0
Subsequent Gain
Total
13

-

Soviet Union Superior
Present Lead Solid 1 4
11
Subsequent Gain
Total
25

Soviet enterprise would take the technological lead by 25 to 1 3 , where it
now lags by much that same margin.
Assuming
that six entries currently
carried as "parity" or "uncertainn shifted in U.S. favor, we still could not
reach Russia's level in basic research (19 to 25).

Applied Technology

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish findarnental superiority
(a
function of creativity) from design philosophy and restraints imposed by
funds when assessing applied technology.
This study makes no attempt to
differentiate- It concentrates instead on practical products that are now,
or soon could, influence the U.S./Soviet military balance.
Supremacy that
might have been, has no practical value.
Each nation either applies
technology effectively, or it does not.
Soviet forces presently deploy a smorgasbord of brand-new systems based en
technology well known in the West, but
slightly exploited.
Significant
samples include intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBHs) with
"cold
launchw capabilities; mobile air defenses that can move with ground
troops;
satellite intercept and surveillance craft; armored vehicles and surface
ships engineered
expressly to operate in
chemical/biological
warfare
environments; rapid-fire rocket launchers; and fire-control systems unmatched
either by this country or other NATO members.
U.S. preeminence is undisputed in 35 signal instances, the Soviets in 28,
but the situation promises to become increasingly unstable as the 1980s
progress, given opposing prospects:
Present Status
United States Superior
Lead Solid
18
Lead Shaky
Total

Soviet Union Superior
Lead Solid
23
Lead Shaky
Total

America's present lead is solid in about 50% of the cases (18 out of 3 5 ) .
The Soviet side, gaining relative strength in the remaining 1 7 , safeguards
its top-flight ratings in all but five instances.
U.S./Soviet ranks would more than reverse if straight-line projections
those trends continued:

sf

Projected Status
United States Superior
Present Lead Solid 1 8
05
Subsequent Gain
Total
23

Soviet Union Superior
Present Lead Solid 23
17
Subsequent Gain
Total
40

-

Moscow would take the technological lead by 4 0 to 2 3 , where it now lags by
much less than that margin.
Assuming four entries currently classified as
"parity" or "uncertainw crossed into U.S. columns, we still would be behind
by 4 0 to 27.

CAPSTONE

It is possible
to quibble about classifications in the
foregoing
assessment, contesting whether
proper
categories have
been
included.
Conclusions drawn are debatable at best, because one weakness may outweigh a
dozen strengths, or vice versa.
Some lags on each
side are deliberate,

caused a t least as much by different missions and developmental styles a s
asymmetries in competence or failures to foresee demands.

by

Still, if Soviet skills are overstated by, say, 25%, the day has passed
when the United States could be smugly sure of unquestioned
scientific and
technological superiority, which has sustained this country in the past and
is the key to future capabilities.
Positive steps will be required to retain the present
U.S.
stance, let
alone improve our posture. Gray matter is more important than money when it
comes to closing gaps.
Success depends on strategists who understand
the
competition working i n tandem with technologists to pick priorities that make
research and requirements match, while reducing blind leads that waste time
and resources. Perhaps most of a l l , the potential for superiority will prove
meaningless, if we fail to compete.

CULMINATING COMMENTS
changes since the Cuban missile crisis favor the Soviet
Union.
U.S. s a l i t a t i v e superiority, less pronounced than in the past, is
slipping away.
NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES
Two legs of our strategic nuclear triad are shaky.
SLBMs, according to
widespread b e l i e f , - m a y become the only secure mainstay
for some interim
period, a t least until air-launched cruise missiles enter the U.S.
inventory
in large numbers about the mid-1980s.
U.S.
nuclear strategy disregards defense.
The American people and
proauction base are exposea completely to ballistic missile attack.
Their
ability to survive a full-scale nuclear assault by the Soviet Union is nearly
nil.
Resultant vulnerabilities drastically
reduce the credibility of U.S.
promises to provide a nuclear vumbrellaw for allies.
We no longer could
unlease assured destruction strikes against the Soviet Union to defend NATO
or Asian friends without risking reciprocal devastation.
U.S. theater nuclear weapons were practical deterrent and defensive tools
two decades ago, when we could clamp a lid on local escalation by threatening
to level the Soviet Union if its leaders employed counterpart systems.
NATO
allies i n particular would have little to gain and a lot to lost today if we
turned loose the theater nuclear genie, since war would take place largely on
their home territory, where both people and possessions a r e unprotected.
Plans predicated on nuclear options in the absence of effective defense
for ourselves or affiliates thus fail to inspire desired degrees of
confidence at any employment level.
CHEMICAL/SIOLOGICAL WARFARE CAPABILITIES
America's

chemical/biological

warfare

(CB)

capabilities,

never

considerable, a r e now n e x t to nonexistent.
W e have n o o f f e n s i v e
that medium which might make the Kremlin f e a r starting a fray it
finish.
U.S. defense i s diffident.

forces i n
could n o t

CONVENTIONAL CAPABILITIES
Quantitative asymmetries a r e important when similar s y s t e m s o n each s i d e
(such a s divisions) c o m p e t e with each other i n combat.
Quality c o u n t s , b u t a
prudent statistical balance must be maintained,
because t h e r e a r e p o i n t s
beyond which mass matters m o r e than excellence.
Land, sea, and air forces
a l i k e l a c k flexibility i f numbers a r e t o o f e w compared with
competitors a n d
commitments.
Our All-Volunteer F o r c e
(AVF) i s too small to d i s p o s e of even o n e
extensive contingency without reducing t h e required C O N U S rotation b a s e
and/or uncovering c o m m i t m e n t s in other regions.
It c a n n o t a b s o r b many m o r e
tanks, s h i p s , and p l a n e s , because members a r e scarcely s u f f i c i e n t to maintain
and o p e r a t e machines n o w i n service.
T h e n u m b e r of U.S.
divisions, aircraft
squadrons, and carrier task forces would remain close to c o n s t a n t if the A V P
were f i l l e d to authorized capacity with high performance personnel.
7

Attrition could take i t s toll quickly i n a l l f o u r U.S- military
services
Planned
and the U.S. Merchant
Marine, which i s a l s o a t a l o w level.
employment of Army r e s e r v e components o r t h e National D e f e n s e Reserve F l e e t
to reinforce active strength and replace c o m b a t casualties early i n a n y
high-intensity conflict a p p e a r s impractical, given depleted r a n k s and r a t h e r
low s t a t e s of readiness.
COLLECTIVE IMPLICATIONS
I n s h o r t , current trends curtail U.S.
f r e e d o m of action.
The upshot
abridges abilities of U.S. armed services to deter a t t a c k s o n the U n i t e 6
States, defend this c o u n t r y effectively
i f deterrence
should f a i l , a n d
safeguard associates w h o s e security i s closely linked with our own.
T h o s e trends will b e hard to reverse because:

-- High manpower costs inhibit f o r c e modernization much m o r e in
the United S t a t e s than in the S o v i e t Union.

-- U.S.

technological supremacy shows signs of perishability that
results more from policies than potential.

Most corrective o p t i o n s a r e politically a n d economically unattractive, but
some c u r r e n t courses c o u l d prove unacceptable i n t h e a b s e n c e o f change.
S t e p O n e i n the process of obtaining a better balance between American a n d
Soviet military strength i s to ascertain o u r t r u e r e q u i r e m e n t s , based
on
imperative U.S. i n t e r e s t s , objectives, and
commitments.
S t e p T w o i s to
reshape U.S. interests, o b j e c t i v e s , and may
b e essential, but bolstering
budgets would produce f e w benefits unless coupled with sound strategy.
Sound conclusions would allow the Congress a n d the executive branch
in
concert to chart a c o u r s e that assures America's ability t o deter a n d , if
need b e , defend successfully against any sort o f Soviet a r m e d aggression i n t o
the Twenty-first Century.

STATISTICAL SUMMARY
(1960)
U. S.

U.S.S.R.

U.S. Standing

MANPOWER
STRATEGIC NUCLEAR
Offense
Bombers
Long-Range
Medium-Range
Cruise Missiles (1)
Ballistic Missiles
ICBMs
SEBMs (2)
Warheads

160-190
lrOOO
A Few
Under

50
48

Under 100

Defense
ABM
Interceptor Aircraft (3)
Surface-to-Air Missiles(3)
THEATER NUCLEAR
MRBM/IRBM4
Other
LAND POWER
Manpower
Army/Ground Forces
Marines/Naval Infantry
Divisions
Army/Ground Forces
Marines/Naval Infantry
Tanks (5)
TACTICAL AIR FORCES
Fighter/Attack
Land Based (6)
Carrier-Based
Medium-Range Bombers (7)
NAVAL FORCES
Aircraft Carriers
Cruisers (8)
Destroyers
Frigates/Other Escorts
Attack Submarines
Amphibious Ships (9)
Land-Based Bombers(l0)
MOBILITY FORCES
Airlift (11)
Sealift

+350-380
+775
About +30
About -38
Par
About -40
Par
-2,300
-400

51
Many

200
A Few

873,000
170,600

2 ,250,000
A Few

-149
+ Many

S h o r t - r a n g e S o v i e t SS-N-1 c r u i s e m i s s i l e s d e p l o y e d o n K i l d e n a n d
Krupny d e s t r o y e r s were p r i m a r i l y a n t i - s h i p weapons, b u t a l s o
had a n u c l e a r c a p a b i l i t y a g a i n s t shore t a r g e t s .
U.S. c r u i s e
missiles were i n a Snark s q u a d r o n a t P r e s q u e I s l e , Haine.
Their
r a n g e was a b o u t 5 , 5 0 0 nm.
S i x S o v i e t Z u l u - V s u b m a r i n e s , w i t h t w o SS-N-4 SLBMs a p i e c e , w e r e
deployed i n t h e % a t e 1950s.
Ten G u l f - I a n d two Hotel-P c o m p a n i o n s ,
e a c h w i t h t h r e e SS-N-4 m i s s i l e s , h a d b e e n c o m m i s s i o n e d b y 1 9 6 0 .
A l l had t o s u r f a c e f o r f i r i n g .
U.S. f i g u r e s i n c l u d e i n t e r c e p t o r a i r c r a f t a n d S A M s y s t e m s i n Army
and A i r Force r e s e r v e components.
I n c l u d e s two J u p i t e r s q u q d r o n s i n I t a l y ( t o t a l 25 m i s s i l e s ) a n d
one i n Turkey (26 m i s s l e s ) .
Excludes Thor IRBMs, s e n t t o Great
B r i t a i n , because t h e y passed t o Royal AirForce (RAF) c o n t r o l a f t e r
becoming o p e r a t i o n a .
U.S. t a n k s i n c l u d e d 1 2 , 5 0 0 Army a n d 4 7 5 M a r i n e .
U.S. f i g h t e r a i r c r a f t i n c l u d e d 1 , 1 8 0 A i r F o r c e a n d 6 2 5 M a r i n e .
The same S o v i e t m e d i u m - r a n g e b o m b e r s show i n s t r a t e g i c n u c l e a r
and t a c t i c a l a i r f o r c e c a t e g o r i e s . .
Khrushchev's p l a n t o s c r a p c r u i s e r s , r e s i s t e d by F l e e t A d m i r a l
G o r s h k o v , was s t i l l i n g e s t a t i o n when t h e 1 9 6 0 s s t a r t e d .
R e t i r e m e n t s r e d u c e d t h e t o t a l t o 1 9 by 1 9 6 4 .
S o v i e t n a v a l i n f a n t r y , w h i c h saw s e r v i c e d u r i n g W o r l d War 1 1 ,
were n o n e x i s t e n t i n 1960.
Small regiments were r e a c t i v e a t e d i n
1961-1962.
Landing C r a f t U t i l i t y (LCUs) were t h e l a r g e s t
av-ailable l i f t .
(10) S o v i e t l a n d - b a s e d n a v a l a i r c r a f t , which e x c e e d e d 1 , 0 0 0 i n t h e
% a t e l950s, reduced rapidly a f t e r f i g h t e r squadrons s h i f t e d
s u b o r d i n a t i o n t o t h e PVO ( a i r d e f e n s e ) .
T h o s e shown a b o v e a r e
a l l a n t i - s h i p bombers.
(11) E x c l u d e s U.S. C i v i l R e s e r v e A i r F l e e t (CRAF) a n d S o v i e t A e r o f l o t .
Includes a c t i v e , r e s e r v e , s t r a t e g i c , and t a c t i c a l a i r l i f t .
Soviet
a i r c r a f t a r e 1 4 0 AN-12 C u b s , 1 5 0 AN-8 C a m p s , a n d 7 7 5 L P - 2 s .

STATISTICAL SUMMARY
(January 1981)
Current Status
U.S.S.R.
U.S.
STRATEGIC NUCLEAR
Offensive/Retaliatory Systems
ICBMs
Ballistic Missile Submarines 1
SLBMS
Bombers 2
Total Launchers
Nuclear Weapons
ICBMs
SLBPis
Bombers 3
Total
Strategic Defensive Systems
A B M Launchers 4
SAM Launchers 4
Intercepter Aircraft 5
Total
LAND POWER
Armies/Ground Forces
Active Military Manpower 6
Deployable 7
Total 8
Divisions
U.S. Active, Soviet Cat. 1-11
Armor/Tank
Mechanized/Motor Rifle
Infantry
Air Assault
Airborne
Total
U.S. Natl. Gd., Soviet Cat. I11
Armor/Tank
Mechanized/Motor Rifle
Infantry
Airborne
Total
Grand Total

U.S.

Standing

Category

Tanks
Heavy, Medium
Light
Total

APC/AFV. 10
Artillery
Antitank Guided Missiles
Heavy Mortars 1 1
Tactical Ballistic Missiles 1 2
Tactical Air Defense
Missiles
Guns
Marines/Naval Infantry
Active Military Manpower 6
Deployable 13
Total
Divisions
Active
Reserve
Total
Tanks
Medium
Light
Total
Armored Carriers
LVTPs 1 4
APC/AFV 10
Total
Artillery
Antitank Guided Missiles
Heavy Mortars

Current Status
U.S.
U.S.S.W,

U.S.

Standing

Category

N A V A L FORCES (General Purpose)
Active Military Manpower 6
Surface Combatants
Aircraft Carriers
Attack
Antisubmarine Warfare
Helicopter
Total
Cruisers
SSM
Other
Total
Destroyers
SSM
Other 15
Total
Frigates 1 6
SSM
Other
Total
Small Combatants 17
SSM
Other
Total
Attack Submarines
SSM
Other
Total
Naval Aircraft
Afloat
Fighter/Attack
ASW
Fixed Wing
Helicopter
Ashore
Bombers
ASW
Fixed Wing
Helicopters
Total

Current Status
U.S.
U.S-S.R.

U.S.

Standing

Category

Current Status
U.S,
U.S.S.W.

U.S. Standing

TACTICAL AIR FORCES
Active Military Manpower 18
fighter/Attack 19
Air Force
Earine
Total
Bombers
Grand Total
Helicopter Gunships
AIRLIFT
Strategic
Tactical
Active
Reserve
Total
U t i P i t y / ~ a r g o Helicopters 2 0
SEALIFT
Merchant Cargo Ships 21
Active
Reserve
Total
Tankers 20
Active
Reserve
Total
Grand Total
Amphibious Ships 22

NOTES :
1

A

-

Includes 15 Soviet G-class diesel submarines.

2.

Strategic bombers include B-52, PB-111, Bear, Bison, and
Backfire (less those assigned to Soviet naval aviation).

3.

U.S.

bomber loads are based on an average of 2 bombs per FB-111;
4 bombs per B-52, plus a variable number of SRAMs (1,150 from

1976-1980).
One large bomb or air-to-surface missile
per Bear and Bison; 2 ASMs per Backfire.

(ASM)

All Hawk and Nike Hercules SkMs number zero a s of Apr. 9 , 1979.
U.S.

interceptor aircraft include Air National Guard.

Manpower figures are in thousands.
U.S. Army deployable manpower includes mission-oriented
base operating support. Soviet strengths exclude command
and general support.
U.S. Army manpower excludes strategic nuclear forces.
Soviet Strengths exclude paramilitary Border Guards and
internal security troops, which total 459,000.
U.S.

light tanks include Sheridan armored assault vehicles.

U.S. entries exclude wheeled vehicles.
Soviet figures include
them, since the characteristics are quite different.

-

Heavy mortars include U.S.

4.2-inch, Soviet 120mm and 240mm.

Tactical ballistic missiles include U.S- Pershing, Lance, and
Honest John, Soviet FROG, S C U D , ScaleSoard, and SS-21.
U.S.

Marines exclude air wings.

Landing Vehicle Tracked Personnel (LVTP).
U.S.

destroyer figure counts 1 6 i n Naval Reserves.

3 7 U.S.

frigates were armed with Harpoon missiles as of January 1981

Soviet small combatants include Nanuchka and Sarancha SSM boats,
and Grisha and Pots.
U.S. figures exclude 1 1 6 Coast Guard cutters
and patrol boats.
Air force manpower figures for both sides exclude
nuclear forces and include airlift forces.

strategic

Includes Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and Marine
Corps Reserve.
U.S.

cargo/utility helicopters include 4,550 Army and 296 Marine.

U.S. merchant cargo ships and tankers include those in
Military Sealift Command, the rest of our Merchant Marine, the
Effective U.S. Controlled Fleet, and National Defense Reserve
Fleet.
U.S. amphibious ships include 1 2 helicopter carriers.
figures count 50 air cushion vehicles.

Soviet

LEGISLATION

Department o f Defense Supplemental Authorization Act, 198%.
Authorizes
the appropriation of additional funds f o r F Y 8 1 f o r t h e use of the a r m e d
forces for procurement of aircraft, missiles, naval vessels, tracked combat
vehicles and for research, development, t e s t , and evaluation.
Increases t h e
active duty personnel and strengths of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
Increases the number of reserve component members authorized t o serve o n
full-time duty with the Marine Corps Reserve.
Increases the number sf
civilian personnel authorized for the Department of Defense.
H.W.
2614
introduced Mar. 1 8 , 1 9 8 1 ; referred to the Committee on Armed
Services.
9.
S.
694
Reported to the House ( H - R e p t . 97-20), with amendment, Apr.
introduced Mar. 1 2 , 1 9 8 % ; referred to the Committee on Armed
Services.
Reported to the Senate (S.Rept.
97-35),
with amendment, Apr.
l.
Passed
Senate, a m e n d e d , May 7, 1981. Passed t h e House, amended, June 2 3 , in li@u sf
H.R.
2614. Conferences held; conf@rence report filed in the House
(H.Rept14,
97-204) July 2 7 , t o which both Houses agreed.
Signed into law Aug.
1981.
P.L.

97-86, S. 815

Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1982.
Authorizes
appropriations
for the armed forces for procurement for aircraft, missiles, naval vessels,
tracked combat vehicles, torpedoes, and other weapons, for
research,
development, t e s t , and evaluation, and for operation and maintenancePrescribes authorized end strengths f o r a c t i v e duty, reserve, and civilian
pePSOnne1.
H.R. 2970 introduced Apr. 1 , 1 9 8 1 ; referred to Committee on Armed
Services.
Clean bill H.R. 3519 reported to the House
(H.Rept.
97-71, part
l), with amendment, May 12.
Referred to the Committees on the Judiciary and
on Government Operations.
S. 8 1 5 introduced Mar. 26, 1981; referred to t h e
Committee on Armed Services.
Reported to the Senate
(S.Rept.
97-58), with
consent i n Senate; passed t h e
amendment, May 6. Called up by unanimous
Senate, a m e n d e d , May 1 4 , 1981. Passed the House, amended, July 1 6 # in l i e u
of H.R. 3519.
Conferences held.
Conference report filed in the House
(H.Rept. 97-311) Nov. 3, to which both Houses agreed.
Signed into law Bee,
1, 1981.
HEARINGS
Mobility
U.S.

Congress.
House.
T h e posture of the U.S. military airlift.
Hearings, 95th Congress, 1st session, on H.R. 2637.
Washington,
U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1377.
1 8 7 p.

NATO/Warsaw P a c t
U.S.

Congress.
Senate.
Committee o n Armed Services. Subcommittee
o n Manpower and Personnel.
NATO posture and initiatives.
Hearings, 95th Congress, 1st session. Washington, U.S. Govt.
Print. Off., 1977. 7 8 p.

Strategic Nuclear
U.S.

Congress.
Senate.
Committee on Foreign Relations.
Parts 1-4. Hearings, 96th Congress,
The Salt I 1 Treaty.
1st session. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1979.

U.S.

Congress.
Senate.
Committee on Armed Services. Military
implications of the Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic
Offensive Arms and Protocol Thereto (SALT I1 treaty).
Hearings, 96th Congress, 1st session. Parts 1-3.
Washington,
U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1979.

Tactical Air Forces
U.S.

Congress.
House.
Committee on Appropriations.
Subcommittee
on Defense. Tactical aircraft and missile programs.
Hearings, 97th Congress, 1st session. Part 6. Washington,
U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1981.
p. 1-638.

REPORTS AND CONGRESSIONAL DOCUMENTS
NATO/Warsaw Pact
U.S.

Congress.
Senate.
Committee on Armed Services. NATO and
the new Soviet threat. Report of Senator Sam Nunn and Senator
95th Congress, 1st session. Washington,
Dewey F. Bartlett.
U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1977.
20 p.

Navy
U.S.

Congress.
House.
Committee on Armed Services.
U.S. Navy
analysis of Congressional Budget Office budget issue paper,
general purpose forces:
Navy.
95th Congress, 1st session.
Jan. 1 2 , 1977. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1977.
23 p.

U.S.

Congress.
House.
Committee on Appropriations.
Subcommittee
on Defense. Navy shipbuilding program.
Hearings, 97th
Congress, 1st session.
Part 6. Washington, U.S. Govt.
Print. Off., 1981. p. 673-1080.

Strategic Nuclear
Douglass, Joseph D., Jr. and Amoretta M. Hoeber.
Soviet
strategy for nuclear war.
Stanford, Calif., Hoover
Institution press, 1979. 138 p.
U.S.

Congress.
Senate.
United States and Soviet City Defense:
Considerations for Congress. Prepared by Congressional Research
Service, Library of Congress. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off.,
1976. 9 1 p.
(94th Congress, 2d session. House Document
no. 94-268)

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
11/20/81

-- President Reagan's proposal for the withdrawal of U.S.
and Soviet intermediate-range missiles from Europe was

called a "welcome change" to his earlier "bellicose"
statements, according to Soviet Communist Party official
Vadim Zagladin.
11/18/81

-- President Reagan proposed cancelling deployment of 5 7 2
n e w cruise and ~ e r s h i n g XI missiles i n Europe if the 6 Q Q
S o v i e t SS-20, SS-4, and SS-5 intermediate-range missiles
deployed in the western Soviet Union a r e dismantled.

11/06/81

-- Secretary of State Haig asserted that the Soviet Union has
a three-to-one numerical advantage over the United States in
missiles and aircraft in Europe.
This came in response to
Eeonid Brezhnev's statement that "approximate paritygv
exists between the two superpowers in the European
theater.

1Q/31/81

-- " W e h a v e a real necessity to increase t h e size and
strength of a l l our military forces," said Secretary
of Defense Weinberger.
" W e need to do i t by
rearming ourselves to meet t h e serious and very imminent
danger*' of t h e ' S o v i e t military threat.

09/30/81

-- P r a v d a rejected a s "routine fabrication" t h e new
D O D report Soviet Military Power. According to the
Communist Party newspaper, the booklet intends to
"fool" U.S. allies and disguise American efforts to
gain strategic superiority.

09/23/81

-- D e f e n s e Secretary Weinberger testified that the
Administration's defense budget cuts w i l l necessitate
eliminating a n army combat division, 30 ships,
a l l T i t a n ICBMs, and the oldest B-52 bombers.

09/20/81

-- Ex-Secretary of Defense Harold Brown stated that the
R e a g a n Administration's campaign to modernize
U.S. strategic nuclear forces will be to the
detriment of the United States' ability t o
w a g e conventional war.
In a n interview Brown said,
"If w e engage in a fruitless search f o r strategic
superiority, we will escalate strategic force
expenditures unnecessarily, and deprive our
conventional forces."

09/05/81

-- According to a Defense Intelligence Agency report
to Congress, the Soviet Union outproduces the United
States a s much a s 3:l i n "most" strategic and
tactical weapons.
This assessment includes tanks,
fighter planes, short-range ballistic missiles,
a n d submarine launched ballistic missiles.

07/19/81

-- Marshal Ogarkov, Soviet armed forces chief of staff,
indicated the Soviet Union has begun a buildup of
strategic nuclear forces in response to U.S. attempts
to gain military superiority.
In an a r t i c l e i n
Kommunist, h e said, "special attention i s being
given to... the strategic nuclear f o r c e s , which
serve a s the basic factor to deter an aggressor."

06/28/81

-- The Navy proposed an expanded shipbuilding plan which
calls for the construction of 143 ships, including
two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
This proposal
is 75% larger than the last 5-year construction plan
of President Carter.

04/15/81

-- The Soviet Union is "plainly ready to apply force in
support of political aims," according to a study by
the British Ministry of Defense. The report proclaimed
"broad parity" between the East and West in strategic
nuclear weapons.

02/06/81

-- "The U.S. Navy is unable fully to meet its peacetime
commitments," according to Chief of Naval Operations
Thomas Hayward.
Testifying before Congress Hayward
stated "I'm not saying we're inferior to the Soviet
But I am saying that the gray area between
Navy
superiority and inferiority is large enough today that
it is ambiguous in terms of a professional assessment
of who's ahead and who's behind.
Our margin of comfort
is totally gone."

.

01/29/81

-- "Detente's been a one-way street the Soviet Union has
used to pursue its own aims, "President Reagan asserted
when asked about future U.S.-Soviet relations.
"...the only morality they recognize is what will
further their cause, meaning they reserve unto themselves
the right to commit any crime, to lie, to cheat."

01/28/81

-- "In a simplistic way

09/18/80

-- The United States and its allies are trailing the Soviet

the Soviets are aheadw militarily,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs David Jones stated in
testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The United States is not strong enough to repel a
Soviet invasion in the Persian Gulf region, according '
to Jones, who advocates retaliating to attack in a
theater where the United States has a military
advantage.

Union and its satellites in nuclear and conventional
weapons, according to The Military Balance 1980-81,
compiled by the International
Institute for Strategic Studies.
09/08/80

-- Only four of the Army's ten CONUS-based divisions are
combat-ready, according to a confidential Pentagon
report. Three of the four are rated
combat-ready, but with major deficiencies.
The
82nd Airborne is ready-for-combat with minor
deficiencies.
Two of the three divisions earmarked
a s potential components of the Rapid .Deployment
Force, the lOlst Air Assault and 24th Infantry,.were
rated unready for combat.

08/21/80

-- The United States could win an arms race with the
Soviets, President Carter stated in defense of his
military policies.
"We have strengthened every
single element of our strategic deterrent... and if

a n unlimited nuclear arms race should be f o r c e d upon
u s , w e will compete and compete successfu$ly."
06/18/80

-- T h e D O E announced i t will not b e a b l e to p r o d u c e all
t h e nuclear weapons the President has r e q u e s t e a unless
i t receives a n additional $250 million in FY81.
According to o n e D O E official " T h e Defense Department
g i v e s orders for warheads but they don't h a v e to pay
f o r them. We a r e t h e ones who h a v e to trade them off
a g a i n s t civilian requirements.q'

06/16/50

-- An o i l shortage seriously hampers U.S. a r m e d f o r c e s
r e a d i n e s s , according to a report issued by t h e House
DOD
Armed Services Investigations Subcommittee.
petroleum stocks f e l l 6% from ' 7 8 to ' 7 9 , which resulted
i n drawing from war reserve stocks to sustain
peacetime operations.

03/20/80

-- T h e S o v i e t Union announced that i t i s going t o
dismantle half of i t s existing antiballistic missile
d e f e n s e sites a r o u n d Moscsw.
Within the g u i d e l i n e s
of t h e Antiballistic Missile T r e a t y , a c o m p o n e n t of
S A L T I , the Soviet Union has deployed 64 ABM launchers
around Moscow.
T h e Soviet representative making the
announcement did n o t say, however, whether Moscow
i n t e n d s to modernize the 32 launchers to a c c o m m o d a t e
n e w missiles, or t o abolish them altogether,

03/17/80

-- About half of the United States' first-line warplanes
Cannot fly be-cause t h e Pentagon h a s concentrated on
buying new aircraft rather than procuring s p a r e parts
to maintain existing ones, according to a study by the
House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
T h e study
found that only 5 3 % of the F-15 E a g l e and F - 1 4 Tomcat
were ready for c o m b a t at any g i v e n time in 1979. Rep.
Jack Edwards, ranking minority member of t h e Subcommittee
stated "It makes n o sense whatsoever to buy a l l
these very costly aircraft without also b u y i n g a l l the
other necessary parts and weapons that make these
a i r c r a f t a n effective combat system."

02/28/80

-- T h e f i r s t XM-1 Main Battle Tank rolled off t h e production
l i n e i n Lima, Ohio.
Although t h e tank i s i n production,
i t w i l l retain a n experimental status until i t has
completed its operational test a b o u t a year from now.
D u r i n g the 1 9 8 0 s , 7 , 0 5 8 XM-1s a r e scheduled t o be built.

02/20/80

-- Gen. Richard Ellis, Commander i n Chief of t h e Strategic
Air C o m m a n d , testified that "an a d v e r s e s t r a t e g i c
imbalance'' favoring the Soviet Union has developed.
Gen. Ellis stated t h a t the imbalance exists w h e n
American forces a r e i n a day-to-day alert posture
a s w e l l a s when ready for operations.

-- D e f e n s e Under Secretary William P e r r y said t h a t the
Soviet Union i s a t least 5 years behind the United
S t a t e s in electronics technology.
Testifying before
a S e n a t e subcommittee, Perry s t a t e d , "In f i e l d s

which are of critical importance to our military
capabilities.
we are more than 5 years ahead of the
Soviets."

..

01/30/80

-- National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) 1138-79 indicates
that the Soviets could have 14,000 ICBM and SLBM
warheads by 1989 if the SALT Treaty is disapproved.
The level will otherwise be limited to about 6,000
in 1985, when the pact, if approved, expires.

01/29/80

-- Defense Secretary Brown, presenting his annual posture
statement to the House Armed Services Committee, admitted
that the U.S. "1-1/2 w a r w capability is only a "theoryw.
As he put it, "our practices have not been entirely
consistent with
that policy.
We have never fully
acquired the agility and mobility required by such a
reinforcement strategy."
Moreover, he maintained,
''we have economized on the nuts and bolts needed to
sustain a non-nuclear conflict in a particular theater
for more than a relatively short time."

-

-- A Pravda edito'rial, o n the same day that Defense

Secretary Brown began reporting to Congress on the
military balance, bluntly stated that the United
States can no longer count on clear, worldwide
military dominance, because Soviet power now can
block U.S. moves and accomplish its own purposes.
Waning U.S. power and increasing Soviet military might
is a fact of life.
Pravda is the official Soviet
Communist Party newspaper.
06/25/79

-- The Soviet Union is developing two new types of

.

strategic bombers and modifying the Tupelov Backfire,
according to a Soviet negotiator for SALT 11.
The disclosure was made to American representatives
at Geneva during technical talks that preceded the
signing of SALT 11.
00/00/62

-- Deputy Soviet Foreign Minister V.V.

Kuznetsov agreed
to remove Soviet missiles and bombers from Cuba,
but warned:
"Never will we be caught like this
again. "

ADDITIONAL REFERENCE SOURCES
Budget
Central Intelligence Agency.
A dollar comparison of Soviet and
U.S. defense activities, 1968-78. Washington, January 1979.

----- Estimated Soviet defense spending:
Washington, June 1978.

trends and prospects.

1 4 p.

Lee, William T. Soviet defense expenditures in an era of
SALT.
Washington, U.S. Strategic Institute, 1979. 31 p.

1 1 p.

General
Collins, John M.
U.S.-Soviet military balance:
concepts
and capabilities, 1960-1980.
Washington, McGraw-Hill
Publications Co., 1980.
645 p.
Hoeber, Fra'nces P., David B. Kassing, and William Schneider, Jr.
Arms, men, and military budget:
issues for fiscal year 1979.
157 p.
New York, Crane, Russak & Co., Inc., 1978.
Scott, Harriet F a s t , and William F. The Armed Forces sf the
U.S.S.R.
Boulder, CoPorado, Westview Press, 9979.
439 p.
,
The Military balance, 1980-1981.
London, International Institute
for Strategic Studies, 1980.
119 p.
The Soviet war machine:
an encyclopedia of Russian military
equipment and strategy. Ray Bonds, ed. Secaucus, N-J.,
Chartwell Books, Inc., 1976.
247 p.
U.S.

Dept. of Defense. Office of Secretary of Defense Harold Brown.
Department of Defense annual report, fiscal year 1982.
Jan. 19, 1981.
Washington 1981.
317 p.

----- Soviet military power.

Washington, 1981.

9 9 p.

Ground Forces
U.S.

Congressional Budget Office.
U.S. ground forces:
design
and cost alternatives for NATO and non-NATO contingencies.
Washington, December 1980.
87 p.

S

Dept.'of the Army.
Operations.
July 1 , 1977.
198 p.

Army field manual

(FM) 100-5.

----- Handbook on Soviet ground forces, Army field manual (FM) 30-40.
Washington, 1975.

273 p.

----- Opposing forces, Eurpoe.
Nov. 1 8 , 1977.

Army field manual
Washington, 1977.

(FM) 30-102.

Mobility Forces
Proceedings of the 1977 World Wide Strategic Mobility Conference.
Sponsored by the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
Logistics Directorate. Washington, National Defense University,
1977.
NATO/Warsaw Pact
U.S.

Congressional Budget Office. Assessing the NATO/Warsaw
Pact military balance.
Washington, December 1977. 63 p.

United States Strategic Institute.
Soviet-Warsaw Pact force levels,
by John Erickson.
USSI report 76-2. Washington, 1976. 8 8 p.
Soviet strategy in Europe.

Richard Pipes, ed.

New York, Crane,

Russak

&

Co., Inc., 1976.

316 p.

Navy
Breyer, Siegfried, and Norman Polmar. Guide to the Soviet Navy.
2d ed. Annapolis, U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1977. 6 1 0 p.
G.
Sea power of the State. Moscow, Military
G ~ r s h k ~Sergei
~ ,
publishing house, 1976. Translated by U.S. Naval Intelligence
Support Center, ~ u l y2 7 , 1976.
363 p.

Soviet naval influence.
Michael MccGwire and John McDonald, ed.
New York, Praeger, 1977. 657 p.
U.S.

Dept. of the Navy.
concepts of the U.S.
21 p.

Chief of Naval Operations.
Strategic
Navy.
(NWP-1) Washington, January $977.

Strategic Nuclear
Goure, Leon.
War survival in Soviet strategy. University of Miami,
Center for Advanced International Studies, 1976. 218 p.
Xodernizing strategic forces:
special report. Aviation week
& space technology, June 16, 1980.
(entire issue)
U.S.

Congression~al Budget Office.
U.S. strategic nuclear forces:
deterrence policies and procurement issues.
Washington
1977.
59 p.

U.S.

Library of Congress.
Congressional Research Service.
Projected strategic offensive weapons inventories of the U.S.
and U.S.S.R.:
an unclassified estimate, by A.A. Tinajero.
Mar. 24, 1977.
Washinqton
1977 1 8 0 p.

Tactical Air Forces
Berman, Robert P., Soviet air power in transition.
the Brookings Institution, 1978. 8 2 p.
Planning U.S. general purpose forces:
January 1977. 51 p.
Soviet aerospace almanac.
U.S.

Washington,

the tactical air forces.

Air Force magazine, March 1981.

1 4 8 p.

Dept. of The Air Force. Functions and basic
doctrine of the United States Air Force.
Air Force manual (AFM) 1-1. Feb. 1 4 , 1979,
Washington, 1979. 80-plus pages (no consecutive pagination).

White, William D. U.S. tactical air power:
missions, forces,
and costs. Washington, The Brookings Institution, 1974.
121 p.
Tactical Nuclear Forces
System Planning Corporation. A Soviet selective targeting strategy
toward Europe, by Joseph D. Douglass, Jr. Revised August 1977.

Washington, 1977.

4 7 p.

U.S.

Congressional Budget Office.
P l a n n i n g U.S. g e n e r a l p u r p o s e
forces:
t he theater nuclear forces.
Washington, January 1977.
4 5 p.

U.S.

Dept. o f D e f e n s e .
O f f i c e of t h e S e c r e t a r y of D e f e n s e J a m e s
R . Sehlesanger.
The Theater nuclear force posture in Europe:
a report t o t h e United S t a t e s C o n g r e s s in c o m p l i a n c e with
Washington, 1945.
P u b l i c L a w 93-365.
30 p .

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3AIB78029. Public record. Not legal advice.