Bruce W. Watson - The Soviet Naval Threat To Europe: Military And Political Dimensions

Military and Political Dimensions

EDITED BY
Bruce W. Watson and Susan M. Watson

First published 1989 by Westview Press, Inc.

Published 2019 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright 1989 Taylor & Francis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Soviet naval threat to Europe: military and political dimensions / edited by Bruce W. Watson and Susan M. Watson.
p. cm. - (Westview special studies on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8133-7664-5
1. Soviet Union. Voenno-Morskoi Flot. 2. Sea-power-Soviet Union. 3. Soviet Union-Military relations-Europe. 4. EuropeMilitary relations-Soviet Union. 5. Europe-Defenses.
I. Watson, Bruce W. II. Watson, Susan M., 1943- . III. Series.
VA573.S575 1989
359'.03'0947-dc19

89-30339
CIP

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-29603-2 (hbk)

Given the events of 1987 and 1988-the death of Admiral Sergei G. Gorshkov, who had served as Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy from 1956 to 1985 and was so influencial in the development of the current Soviet Navy, the Soviet policy of glasnost', the U.S.-Soviet arms negotiations, Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to Washington, President Ronald Reagan's visit to Moscow, and the treaty concerning intermediate-range nuclear weapons-a study of the Soviet naval threat to Europe is particularly timely. The current atmosphere that promises to bring additional reductions in the U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals will affect NATO's security significantly in that, with the reduction in NATO's nuclear defenses, the Alliance's conventional weapons will assume greater importance. Much has been written about the Warsaw Pact's superiority in conventional forces. In the naval realm, Soviet technological advances and its submarine and surface combatant construction programs have produced an impressive force that must be considered as a major factor in the European security calculus. It is one of the purposes of this study to examine the strategic and conventional threats posed by this navy with the hope of providing a more accurate insight into the risk that the Alliance currently faces.

Since 1956, the Soviet Navy has progressed from little more than a coastal defense force to one of the two strongest navies in the world. That the majority of this naval power is targeted against Western Europe and the United States means that the Soviet Union not only poses a tremendous land-based threat through its ground forces, but also poses a maritime threat with its navy. No longer are Europe's shores immune from Soviet influence. Now their navy exerts a major influence on the seas contiguous to Europe-the Aegean, Ionian, Balearic and Mediterranean seas to the south, the North and Norwegian seas to the west, the Barents Sea to the north, and, of course, the Baltic, which washes onto the northern central heartland of Europe. Additionally, the navy poses a critical threat to European sea lanes. Foremost are those that span from North America to Europe over which critical supplies would be conveyed in wartime. Less critical but nonetheless vital are those which connect Europe to needed resources in the Third World, especially Persian Gulf oil. From bases in Africa and the Indian Ocean the Soviet Navy supports its West African Contingent and Indian Ocean Squadron which, in wartime, could disrupt commerce along these sea lanes as well.

Soviet naval expansion has had its effect on European defense and politics in that, in the last three decades, the Western European nations have had to accept this naval buildup and have adjusted their policies accordingly. Unfortunately for us in the United States, too little is known of European views concerning Soviet naval expansion.

We begin this study by examining Soviet military and naval strategy, which provides a view of how the Soviets intend to use their forces. Then we explore Soviet naval capabilities and operations, because a full understanding of Soviet naval power provides an understanding of the isolation that Europeans often feel. In the fourth and fifth sections of the book we examine the threat to northern and southern Europe. Here each author assesses the naval threat as it is perceived by his or her nation and often provides an insight into how it has affected that nation's policies. We conclude with a look to the future and examine those factors that might alter the current situation.