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period in peacetime and these improvements have in some
cases been reflected in the forces of other Warsaw Pact countries.
Soviet tank and motor rifle divisions in Eastern Germany have increa-
sed in manpower strength by about 15 per cent and 20 per cent
respectively.
more tanks.
Motor rifle divisions now have some 50 per cent
Notable recent additions in equipment include a modern
infantry combat vehicle, several low to medium-altitude surface-
to-air missiles systems and excellent new artillery and engineer
equipments. Tactical nuclear missile delivery systems have
increased in numbers and improved in mobility.
Two
6. The Soviet Union has also emerged as a maritime super power. It
has developed a large, modern, well-equipped fleet of cruisers,
destroyers and escorts, over 1,000 naval aircraft and some 320
operational submarines of which over 120 are nuclear-powered.
aircraft carriers are under construction. The Warsaw Pact's
building rate for nuclear-powered submarines is now twice that of
NATO. The numbers of Warsaw Pact and NATO surface ships
are broadly similar but Allied surface vessels include a very
much higher proportion of older ships and carry substantially fewer
off ensive or defensive missile systems. Furthermore, such numerical
comparisons disguise the full extent of the imbalance between the
Soviet submarine fleet, which is now increasingly nuclear-powered,
and the capability of NATO's anti-submarine forces.The Soviet threat at
sea therefore comes more from the very large submarine force and from the
Soviet Union's substantial building programme which is improving
the quality and average age of the Soviet fleet compared with those
of the Alliance. The maritime balance has shifted, and is
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