Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 50 Withheld under statutory authority of the U S 3 section 3507 Mandatory REVIEW C356 NLT DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE Soviet Air Show Emphasizes New Aircraft Special Report WEEKLY REVIEW DEC LASSIFIED UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE INTERAGENCY SECURITY Cl ASSIFICATION APPEALS PANEL E 0 13526 SECTION 5 APPEAL NO 2012-096 document no 8 DECLASSIFICATION DATE July 10 2018 -Secret 1 11 August 1967 SC No - - Special Reports are supplements to the Current Intelligence Weeklies issued by the Of ce of Current Intelligence The Special Reports are published separately to permit more comprehensive treatment of a subject They are prepared by the O ice of Current Intelligence the Of ce of Research and Reports or the Directorate of Science and Technology Special Reports are coordinated as appropriate among the Directorates of CIA but except for the normal substantive exchange with other agencies at the working level have not been coordinated outside CIA unless speci cally indicated WARNING This document contains information altecting the national defense of the United States within the meaning of Title 18 sections 793 and 794 of the US Code as amended Its transmission or revelation of its contents to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited by law DISSEMINATION CONTROLS This document MUST NOT BE RELEASED TO FOREIGN GOVERN- MENTS If marked with speci c dissemination controls in accordance with the provisions of DCID 1 7 the document must be handled within the framework of the Iimitatiori so imposed GROUP 1 Ixcwocn men AUTOMATIC mwrona mo sun I asst canon SOVIET SHOW EMPHASIZES NEW AIRCRAFT The aircraft shown in the Moscow air show of 8 and 9 July 1967 reflect the USSR's current stress on improving-air support for its theater forces Ten new or modified fighters were demonstrated includ- 'ing two with movable wings Many of the aircraft were known to US intelligence Two models have been flying for several years Only one of the new aircraft is believed to be in production now Several are clearly experimental and will not be series produced One new vertical take off and-landing VTOL aircraft was demonstrated and three models equipped with lift engines for short take off and-landing STOL were shown The deploy- ment of these aircraft will significantly improve the capability of the Soviet Tactical Air Force to engage in conventional warfare The Moscow show featured a demonstration in which tran5port aircraft landed tactical rockets and air defense missile systems for airborne troops No new heavy bombers were shown and there is no evidence that the Soviets are developing such aircraft New'Fighter Aircraft The number and variety of new fighters displayed in this first major public showing of com bat aircraft since 1961 suggest a Soviet intention to improve all asPects of fighter aviation One of the new fighters will be as signed to the air defense forces indicating that the Soviets will continue to use manned aircraft for strategic defense At least one of the others is expected to be deployed in units of the So- viet Tactical Air Force in 1969 or 1970 A variable geometry swing-wing aircraft may be de- veloped for deployment between 1971 and 1973 as a multipurpose tactical fighter The new fighters are designed to carry loads heavier than those of fighters in operational service Four employ side inlets for the jet engines leaving the forward por- tion of the fuselage free for weapons or SOphisticated electronic equipment New High-Performance Fighters A twin jet all-weather in- terceptor designed by P O Sukhoy is-the only new fighter in the show believed to be in production at the present time One of these fighters made a high speed pass and nine flew by in a formation flight Page 1 SPECIAL REPORT 11 Aug 67 Twin la Sukhov I Ijhie'r For Take _And Landing Arr-it - I 67435 8 67 cm - - 1 i The aircraft Photo A is be lieved to be in production at No vosibirsk where it was seen_ by a Western observer in February It iis estimated that about 35 of these twin-jet fighters have- been upro- duced The- a ircraft _is expected to be Operational with air defense 1 was exhibited -but not flown This forces by early 1968 Its top speed is beyond Mach 2 5 and it probably can-climb to al titudes above 65 QQO feet A variant of' this aircraft equipped with both lift and cruise engines has an STOL capability Photo B Another new twin-jet fighter displayedK Phot0 C in the show was designed by A I Mikoyan and described by the Soviets as both a fighter bomber and an all weather interceptor The Soviets claim it is capable of a high rate of climb and can fly several times the speed of sound Its configuration suggests that it too is capable of speeds ex ceeding Mach 2 5 At least four of these fighters have been produced indicating extensive testing and series production could begin before the end of the year It is expected to be deployed with the Tactical Air ForCe within the next two to three years A new single-jet delta-wing fighter designed by Mikoyan was seen for the first time in the show Phototb It was described as capable of attacking targets at both high and low altitudes It is equipped both with auxiliary lift engines and with a cruise engine and demonstrated STOL capabilities similar to those of the Sukhoy interceptor No 'armament was observed on the fighter which probably is still in the early stages of develop mental t esting An a_ircraft designated Photo E which had never been seen_ prev1ously by Western observers experimental aircraft was built in 1959 and setiworld records for 7' speed -ahd altitude in 1961 and 1962 -It was bu1lt for testing -pur poses and will not_ be deployed 1 The- newest record --breaking Soviet fighter the E--266 was not ex hibited A Mikoyan-designed variab1e geometry aircr aft gave an extensiveg_ demonstration Photos F It exe- cuted a series of maneuvers with its wings in various positions__ from fully extended to fully swept There appeared to be no difficulty in moving the wings to any intermediate positiona- The design of the wing resembles that of the US although the Soviet aircraft is a smaller single engine fighter and the wings when fully swept do not join the tail in a complete delta The Soviet press described the aircraft as a multipurpose fighter Considerable testing probably will be needed before an Operational variant can be produced A movable-wing variant of the Sukhoy designed also was shown Photo G Only the outer panels of the wings are movable The aircraft probably represents an early effort in variable-ge- ometry testing and is unlikely to be Operationally deployed Page 3 SPECIAL REPORT 11 Aug 67 - - - - v - - MH nn I I-l i q l v'ar- Blinder With AS-4 Missile iwin-Turboprop Transport BE-30 67436 3-67 CIA 11h'r F lTVTOL and are Aircraft An experimental_aircraft designed by demons strated its vertical takeeoffs and landing-Q pabilities atjthe show The equipped with two swivel-nozzle engines that prQVide power for both vertical cruis ing work'on_the aircraft des- ignated in 1962 and one test model was completed in 1963 It swstill in the experimental phaSe of develop- ment and ope dti nai deployment of the aircraft in'its present configuration is not expected In addition to the new Mi koyan fighter andIthe Sukhoy interceptor a modified MIG-21 also demonstrated STOL capabili- ties Photo I It was equipped with special lift engines similar to those of the Sukhoy and-Mi koyan-fighters Another equipped with lift devices dem- onstrated its ability to land on short runways This feature' probably has been incorporated in most of the produced in the last two years Modified Fighter A YAK-28 interceptor ex- hibited on the ground Photo -incorporated modifications not on Operational models of that aircraft Its radome nose has been lengthened and may contain new or modified radar or fire c0ntrol equipment The aircraft also is equipped with four air- to air missile pylons instead of the two seen on all YAK-ZS models previously observed The two ad- ditional pylons are of a type used for AA-Z Atoll infrared homing missiles rather than for the semiactive or infrared missiles normally carried on the ynKL28 At present 'there is no evidence that inoperationalunits have been modified A trainer version of the was seen at Moscow Photo K While various reports have in- dicated the existence of an trainer this is the first time the aircraft has been displayed Other Significant Displays Twenty-two Blinder supersonic- dash medium bombers most of them equipped with air-to-surface mis siles flew by at the end of the aerial demonstration Photo L The number of missile-equipped aircraft suggests that this new air to surface weapons system is now in limited operational service and that a full operational capa bility Can be achieved within the next year No new heavy bombers were shown and there is no evi dencethatthe Soviets are develop- ing such aircraft The one new tranSport air- craft unveiled was a small twin turbopr0p transport designated the which can carry 14 pas- sengers and should be well suited for both civil and military use It can Operate from short and relatively undeveloped airstrips Photo M Page 5 SPECIAL REPORT 11 Aug 57 - ea- - - - up 541 - - 67437 8-67 CIA 2111 4 - -- - 4 The Soviets conducted an airborne assault operation in volving the drop of about 1 000 paratr00ps from AN lz medium-' tran5ports and the landing of tr00ps and equipment by heavy and medium transports and by helicopters A highlight of the Operation was the landing of tactical rocket and surface to air missile systems by AN-22 heavy transports One unloaded a jeep and three FROG tactical missiles and two each unloaded one jeep and two Ganef surface to air missiles Photo N A of civil aircraft included examples of most of the transports currently in service or being flight tested One fea ture was the demonstration of a short landing about 3 000 feet by an heavy turbofan trans port using reverse thrust engines SECRET Prepared by the Office of Strategic Research Page 6 SPECIAL REPORT ll Aug 67 This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu