September 1981
"In view of the increasing danger of war unleashed by the US and NATO," the chiefs of services would assign the highest priority to collecting information on:
- Key US/NATO political and strategic decisions vis-a-vis the Warsaw Pact.
- Early warning of US/NATO preparations for launching a surprise nuclear attack.
- New US/NATO weapons systems intended for use in a surprise nuclear attack.
KGB leaders Chebrikov and Kryuchkov had been stunned by these orders. The decision to order an intelligence alert was highly unusual. Moreover, in terms of its mission, scope, and consumption of operational resources the coming operation (not to mention cooperation between Soviet civilian and military services) was unprecedented.
"
We are losing the Cold War. That what the KGB foreign intelligence directorate assessment says." Yuri Andropov didn't minced his words.
Ambassador Dobrynin was not surprised. In his view Andropov was the first Soviet top leader since Stalin who seemed to believe that the United States might launch a surprise attack on the USSR. Ministry of defence Ustinov was no better.
"Last month an armada of eighty-three US, British, Canadian, and Norwegian ships led by the carrier Eisenhower managed to transit the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom (GIUK) Gap undetected, using a variety of carefully crafted and previously rehearsed concealment and deception measures. "A combination of passive measures (maintaining radio silence and operating under emissions control conditions) and active measures (radar-jamming and transmission of false radar signals) turned the allied force into something resembling a stealth fleet, which even managed to elude our low-orbit, active-radar satellite we launched to locate it. As the warships came within operating areas of our long-range reconnaissance planes, we were initially able to identify but not track them. Meanwhile, Navy fighters conducted an unprecedented simulated attack on our planes as they refueled in-flight, flying at low levels to avoid detection by shore-based radar sites. They attacked from a thousand mile from their carrier, twice the usual distance !" Ustinov was evidently furious.
"And their aviation is no better. Since Reagan entered the White House they are constantly harassing our airspace, everywhere from the North Pole to East Germany and Japan. We saw their bombers flying over the North Pole; fighter-bombers probing our Asian or European periphery; several maneuvers in a week coming at irregular intervals to make the effect all the more unsettling. Then, as quickly as the unannounced flights begun, they stop, only to begin again a few weeks later. Last week they had a squadron flying straight at our airspace, then other radars lit up and units went on alert. Then at the last minute the squadron peeled off and returned home !"
"And space is no better. Their KH-8, KH-9, and KH-11 unmanned spy satellites coordinates their missions with the KH-10B manned platform where astronauts catch targets of opportunity. Agena space tugs harass our own satellites and space stations in low Earth orbit and polar orbit, and they plan to move upward, to Molniya and GEO orbits."
Then Andropov said "We have come to the conclusion the United States are preparing a war, a surprise nuclear barrage against us. As such, I have ordered the KGB and the GRU to join forces to mount a new intelligence collection effort codenamed
Raketno-Yadernoe Napadenie (RYAN)." Andropov concluded.