Soviet Tactics for Warfare at Sea: Two Decades of Upheaval

Abstract : Major innovations have changed the shape of Soviet military doctrine over the past decade. Their effects on the Soviet Navy's strategic employment concepts and on its 'operational art' have been discussed at length in the West for several years now. That the Soviet Navy's views on the tactical aspects of warfare at sea have also undergone major changes, however, is much less well appreciated--despite the development of new tactical scenarios and force employment principles by Soviet naval theorists, despite the existence of a large body of Soviet writings dealing with these changes, and, finally, despite the profound impact they have had on contemporary Soviet warship design. This paper will focus primarily on the development of Soviet views on anti-surface warfare (ASUW). The period with which this analysis deals begins in the early 1960s, when Soviet theorists first began to weigh the implications of their Navy's acquisition of nuclear-missile weapons on its tactics. Only a thorough understanding of the issues raised in this debate will enable us to assess the meaning and import of Soviet tactical writings today.