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Document No. 119: Summary of Soviet Statement at the Committee of Ministers of Defense Meeting in Warsaw, December 1–3, 1986 ——————————————————————————————————————————— In these remarks, Soviet Deputy Defense Minister Gen. J.F. Ivanovskii reveals some of the improvements the Warsaw Pact plans to make in its conventional forces in order to counter advancements on the NATO side. Not a political speech, the statement is a straight description of how the alliance plans to upgrade its forces. One innovation would be the addition of new airborne assault troops, which he says would “make offensive operations more dynamic.” Another would be the introduction of marine amphibious units. There is little sense here that the Warsaw Pact is falling significantly behind NATO, which is a more typical theme in many official statements. ____________________ […] The ground forces of the allied armies are currently equipped with modern arms and combat technology which allow for striking in considerable depth behind the enemy lines. In order to take more advantage of these strikes it is currently expedient to increase the mobility of the army by creating air assault unit detachments within the fronts and armies. The large-scale deployment of air assault troops will make offensive operations more dynamic. It will enable us to extend the effect on the enemy from the frontline deep into the hinterland, and will increase the speed of attack by our troops. The kind of tasks to be solved by the air assault groupings and detachments will in many regards be determined by their combat possibilities, which in turn will depend on the quantity and quality of armaments and the organizational structure. According to our experience, the most efficient structure is the air assault brigade in the front and the air assault battalion in the army corps. The air assault brigade is capable of capturing three to four objects within an area of 200 to 300 square kilometers, or of defending an area 10–15 km wide and deep, and can resist an attack by up to two mechanized enemy infantry brigades. In many cases, the brigade can conduct raids to a depth of up to 80 to 100 kilometers. The air-strike battalion is capable of capturing and defending one to two objects within an area of 10 to 15 square kilometers. And with the support of the attacking troops it is capable of fighting superior enemy forces for some hours. As calculations have demonstrated, it takes 240 to 260 helicopters, among them up to 60 Mi-26s, to land an air assault brigade. For an air assault battalion it takes 50 to 60 helicopters, among them 15 to 20 Mi-26s. […] The necessity of having specialized troop detachments and groupings as part of our unified forces is dictated by the existence of major naval operation zones at the 549 flanks of the area of responsibility of the Warsaw Treaty, and the specific conditions of warfare deriving from that situation. […] The independent marine infantry brigade is the perfect organizational form for marine infantry, corresponding to all the major requirements of employment in combat . The brigade is capable of fighting as a tactical operational unit for amphibious landing and of capturing a bridgehead on the enemy’s coast up to 10 kilometers wide, a naval base, a harbor, an island or a group of smaller islands. During amphibious operations together with ground forces, the brigade is capable of providing the first echelon of the landing troops, or else of making available two to three advance detachments , each consisting of one reinforced marine battalion. [Source: DVW 1/71046, BA-MA. Translated by Karen Riechert.] 550 ...

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