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Soviet Space Station and Shuttle
by Brian W. McMullin, 1986

In the mid-1980s, Moscow announced plans to have a large, permanently manned space station orbiting the Earth in the 1990s. They launched MIR, the core vehicle of a modular space station, in February 1986. The Soviets planned to use the space shuttle orbiter, then in development, to carry payloads and assist in the assembly of the space station.

Soviet Space Shuttle on the Launch Pad
by Ronald C. Wittmann, 1986

As part of its efforts to militarize space, the USSR pressed forward in the 1980s with an active research and development program centered at Tyuratam. The Soviets designed the SL-W heavy lift space launch vehicle for use with the space shuttle orbiter, as well as with other heavy payloads.

Soviet Anti-Satellite System
by Ronald C. Wittmann, 1986

Soviet military space capabilities posed an ever-increasing threat to U.S. land, sea, air, and space forces in the 1980s. The USSR. operated and tested an orbital antisatellite weapon that was designed to destroy space targets with a multi-pellet blast.

Soviet SS-25s Firing
by Edward L. Cooper, 1986

The deployment of road-mobile SS-25 intercontinental ballistic missiles in the 1980s marked a Soviet decision to make the land component of its strategic forces more survivable. The SS-25 SICKLE was about the same size as the U.S. Minuteman and carried a single nuclear-tipped reentry vehicle.

Soviet SS-20s in Firing Position
by Edward L. Cooper, 1986

The Soviets deployed hundreds of mobile, SS-20 intermediate force missile launchers in the 1980s--with three nuclear warheads on each missile and reloads for each launcher. These were targeted against Western Europe, China, and Japan. The highly accurate SS-20 had great mobility when field deployed to ensure survivability.

Soviet Artillery Supporting River Crossing
by Richard J. Terry, 1982

Moscow pursued a comprehensive program of upgrading its artillery fire support and deployed a new 122-mm self-propelled howitzer, the 2S1, to Central Europe beginning in the 1980s. The nuclear-capable, technically advanced 2S1 could keep pace with the tank and motorized rifle units of the Red Army.

Soviet Tanks Crossing a River
by Ronald C. Wittmann, 1985

In the mid-1980s, 28,000 of the USSR's 52,000 main battle tanks threatened NATO in Central Europe. The Soviets also pre-positioned some 27,000 meters of pontoon bridges and other river crossing equipment in Eastern Europe to speed the forward thrust of the Red Army's tank and motorized rifle divisions in the event of conflict.

Soviet Artillery Urban Training
by John F. Hessenauer Jr., 1982

The Red Army trained extensively for urban combat in Central Europe. The Soviet combined arms units stationed in East Germany conducted realistic live fire exercises at specially constructed urban training sites.

Soviet Mobile Laser in Afghanistan
by Edward L. Cooper, 1985

The Soviets continued a large, well-funded program to develop tactical laser weapons in the 1980s. There were reports that the USSR employed mobile laser platforms in Afghanistan against personnel, unprotected targets, and sensors.

Soviet ZSU Anti-Aircraft Guns
by Edward L. Cooper, 1987

The 2S6, deployed in the 1980s, was the newest antiaircraft system designed to operate with the motorized rifle and tank divisions. The 30-mm 2S6 represented a significant improvement over the older ZSU-23-4 and complimented the Soviet's highly effective surface-to-air missiles.

SA-5s in Libya
by Ronald C. Wittmann, 1986

SA-5 surface-to-air missiles for Libya were among thousands of tons of weaponry shipped by the Soviet Union to its client states in the 1980s. In return for military and political support to countries such as Libya and Syria, the Soviets were able to advance their political-military objectives and gained access to military facilities in the region.

Soviet Mobile Lasers Defending an Airfield
by Edward L. Cooper, 1987

The Soviets built high-energy laser devices in the 1980s and generally placed more emphasis on the weapons applications of lasers than did the West. The tactical laser program had progressed to the point that by the mid-1980s, U.S. analysts anticipated that laser weapons would be deployed with future Soviet forces.

FULCRUM Escorting a BACKFIRE
by Richard J. Terry, 1986

The MiG-29 FULCRUM all-weather, air superiority fighter-interceptor, seen in company with a TU-22M BACKFIRE strategic bomber, reflected the USSR's continuing drive to modernize its air forces in the mid-1980s. The FULCRUM was fitted with AA-10 missiles and Moscow's most modern look-down/shoot down radar--technology made possible, in part, by technology thefts from the West.

FLANKERs in Formation
by Richard J. Terry, 1986

Su-27 FLANKER all-weather, air-superiority fighters, deployed in the late 1980s, were equipped with a look-down/shoot-down weapons system and beyond-visual-range AA-10 missiles. The FLANKER, built in Komsomolsk, emerged from an expanding industrial base that gave highest priority to military production.

Soviet CANDID Dropping Troops and Equipment
by Richard J. Terry, 1978

The Il-76 CANDID jet transport, which could carry 140 troops or 40 tons of cargo, entered service in the mid-1970s to help meet the USSR's worldwide military airlift requirements. With over 600 of these aircraft, the USSR could rapidly concentrate its aircraft to support military operations anywhere on the Soviet periphery, as they did in December 1979 in Afghanistan.

Missile Attack on U.S. F-16s
by Edward L. Cooper, 1985

The Soviets deployed numerous strategic and tactical air defense assets in the 1980s that improved capabilities against aircraft flying at medium and high altitudes. The SA-12 missile, shown here tracking U.S. F-16 FALCONs, was capable of intercepting aircraft at high altitudes.

Soviet DELTA Firing Missile
by Edward L. Cooper, 1985

The USSR deployed an increasingly versatile naval force in the 1980s, including modern submarine, surface ship, and naval air force components. The 1984 launching of the first DELTA IV nuclear submarine as the platform for the SS-N-23 ballistic missile marked still another increase in this capability.

TYPHOON Replenishing in the Arctic
by Edward L. Cooper, 1986

ALEXANDER BRYKIN, the lead unit of a new class of strategic ballistic missile submarine tenders, joined the Red Fleet in the 1980s. These ships enhanced the survivability and sustainablity of Soviet TYPHOON-class submarines by enabling missile-reloading operations in protected waters.

Soviet Ships in Cam Ranh Bay
by Edward L. Cooper, 1985

In the early 1980s, the USSR began transforming Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, into a major forward deployment base enhancing Soviet military capabilities in the Pacific, Southeast Asian, and Indian Ocean regions. The Soviets routinely deployed between 25 and 30 ships to the South China Sea, including surface combatants, attack and cruise missile submarines, and naval auxiliary ships.

FREESTYLE on a TBILISI-Class Carrier
by Brian W. McMullin, 1989

The first unit of theUSSR's new 65,000-metric ton carrier (this class went through several names--BREZHNEV, TBILISI, and finally KUZNETSOV), constructed in the 1980s, was to mark a significant evolutionary advance over the KIEV-class carriers. The navy tested the Yak-41 FREESTYLE vertical takeoff fighter/interceptor as a candidate aircraft for the carrier’s air wing.