150 
top posts. Smirnov (b. 1917) relieved Kasatanov as first deputy com- 
mander in chief of the navy in October/November 1974. In 1969 
he had gone from the naval staff in Moscow to take over the Pacific 
Fleet as a vice admiral, at the start of the buildup in its strength 
and the early days of the Indian Ocean deployments. Promoted to 
admiral en poste, he was again promoted to fleet admiral in late 
1973,158 1 year before taking over as first deputy. Gorshkov has just 
passed his 20th anniversary as commander of chief of the navy and, 
at the age of 66, may be due to step down. 
In seeking to assess the future significance of all these varied points, 
it continues to be useful to talk in terms of the Soviet Navy’s 
war-related role, and the peacetime employment of Soviet naval 
forces. 
THE WAR-RELATED ROLE 
In many ways, this is the easiest part to answer, since the Soviets 
are reasonably outspoken about their operational requirements, even 
if they give few indications as to how they intend to meet them. 
As has been shown, besides contributing to nuclear attacks on targets 
ashore, the navy’s primary mission is to counter the West’s sea-based 
strategic nuclear systems at the outbreak of war. It has mastered 
the problem of permanently targeting U.S. carriers in periods of ten- 
sion. There is still the question of disabling the carrier before it 
launches its strike aircraft, but the Soviets appear to be developing 
some fairly effective answers to this.!°9 
The problem of countering the ballistic missile submarine is of 
quite a different order. It requires the capability to track continuously 
a submerged submarine, with an accuracy which will allow timely 
kill on command. It is a massive problem and with a system like 
Trident, the sea areas involved are vast. Yet all the evidence, including 
Gorshkov’s own statements, indicate that the Soviet Union is striving 
to meet this demanding operational requirement. On the basis of 
such evidence as Soviet comments that the answer involves several 
branches of the armed forces articles dealing with various aspects 
of the ASW problem, and developments in ship and weapon design, 
several analysts'®° are convinced that the Russians are developing 
a complex but highly original solution to the problem. This, while 
still exploiting acoustic methods of detection, will make extensive 
use of other types of sensors, and will mount them on a variety 
of platforms, including satellites and surface-effect vehicles.'® 
'58 Egorov (b. 1918) was promoted at the same time. He took over the northern fleet as an admiral 
in June 1972, and could follow in Kasatanov’'s steps by becoming first deputy, if Smirnov takes over 
from Gorshkov. Egorov and Smirnov are both submariners. 
'991f successful, the SS-N—13 submarine-launched tactical ballistic missile will pose a serious threat. 
See “Current Soviet Warship Construction and Naval Weapons Development”, Soviet Naval Policy, 
p. 434. Carrier forces could also be targeted by land-based ballistic missiles fitted with similar ter- 
minal guidance systems. 
'69 Especially K. J. Moore. He has drawn my attention to several articles including: (1) ‘‘Non- 
acoustic methods of submarine detection,” (2) ‘In the world of science and technology: mag- 
nitohydrodynamic engines,” (3) ‘“‘Trends in the development of nonacoustic means of detection,” (4) 
“Radar image on the surface of the sea.” (Sources: (1) A. L. Prostakov, Morskoj sbornik 1965, No. 
7; (2) author n.k., ibid. 1970, No. 10; (3) Ye. Buzov, source n.k., post-70; S. D. Yeshchenke et al., 
Radiotekhnika i elektronika, 1972, No. 2). See also note 63 above. Polmar mentions a Soviet article 
(no reference) which describes a laser detector for airborne ASW which could scan a water layer 
over 400 ft. deep at 100 knots speed-of-advance. (N. Polmar “Speculating on Soviet ASW,” Naval 
Review, U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, May 1976, forthcoming. 
‘61 Including what the Russians term an ekranoplan or wing-in-ground (WIG) effect vehicle. Polmar 
(op.cit) states that a number of configurations are reported to be under development, ranging from 
small vehicles to the ‘‘Caspian Sea Monster,’ which may weigh some 500 tons. From information 
