and control system (AWACS) aircraft on a rotational basis in this
area. This AWACS coverage will allow interceptors in Iceland and the
United Kingdom to engage the Soviet bombers.
Early warning from
AWACS also will increase the effectiveness of Navy F-14 aircraft
based on carriers in the Atlantic.
(b) In each Soviet fleet there is at least one brigade of
Soviet naval infantry and one Spetsnaz brigade.
The Soviet naval
infantry is highly mechanized.
It has tanks, armored personnel
carriers, mobile rocket launchers, self-propelled howitzers, and air
defense guns. Soviet naval infantry could be used as a heavy raiding
force against stopover points.
Spetsnaz teams could be employed by
parachute, submarine, or fast attack craft to sabotage operations at
stopover airfields.
(6) Now, the Soviet threat to Army helicopters deploying to
Northern Europe is slight.
Tracking down our helicopters is not a
priority mission for the Soviet navy, so in-flight contact will
probably be incidental. However, interdiction of US SLOC and ALOC is
a stated mission, and the Soviets are building a multifaceted naval
force that is capable of accomplishing that mission.
b. Central European Threat
Helicopters deploying through Germany, France, Italy, Turkey,
and on to Egypt or Saudi Arabia could face a multitude of threats.
The break up of the Warsaw Pact countries has not opened the airspace
over these countries.
The neutral airspace of Austria and
Switzerland will force deployment through France and Italy.
The
Soviet Black Sea fleet is a powerful force in the eastern
Mediterranean Sea. Army helicopters deploying to the Middle Eastern
countries could encounter Libyan armed forces that are equipped with
MiG-23 and Mirage F-1A, F-1C, and IIIE fighters.
c. Caribbean Sea and Central American Area Threat
The unpredictable relations between the United States and
Third-World countries in this area threaten the deployment of Army
helicopters.
Cuban forces are the most considerable threat in this
area.
Major aircraft threats to Army helicopters deploying through
this region include the Mi-8 and Mi-17 Hip helicopters, the Mi-24 and
Mi-25 Hind helicopters, and the Mig-23 and MiG-27 fighters. The MiG-
23's radius of 520 nautical miles allows coverage of most of Florida,
the eastern half of the Yucatan Peninsula, and Puerto Rico.
The
unsettling state of affairs in Nicaragua could surface enemy forces
that could threaten deployment routes through Central America to
include most of Honduras and El Salvador, all of Costa Rica, and part
of Panama.
Cuba also can be a forward deployment base for Soviet
naval aviation and surface combatants.
14
AV1525
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