Naval Art and the Prism of Contemporaneity: Soviet Naval Officers and the Lessons of the Falklands Conflict
Abstract
Soviet naval officers perceive the Falkland Islands War as one manifestation of increasing rivalry among capitalist states of different levels of development. This circumstance suggests greater Soviet efforts to undermine the U.S. alliance system and to increase its problems of coalition management. Two other trends which the Falklands seemed to confirm are: the emergence of the possibility of resource wars between the North and South, and the increased reliance of the West upon an 'oceanic strategy'. Both trends will be used to promote the growth of the Soviet Navy. Another ground for Soviet naval officers' satisfaction with the Falklands Conflict was precisely what can be learned about trends in warfare at sea. The Falklands Conflict offers major dividends to its naval and military researchers. The research apparatus of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces are now making a sustained effort to reshape their perceptions about modern warfare on the basis of the lessons derived from the Falklands Conflict. Judging by the articles in Morskoi sbornik, this effort will be professionally competent, extensive and sustained. While Soviet military thinkers warn that it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of all such local wars, they nonetheless see them as having 'an importance for the perfection of military theory'. The Falklands Conflict, like other local wars, will allow them to perfect their conception of modern warfare, i.e, 'that they are grasped through the prism of contemporaneity. Keywords: Naval tactics; Air defense; Logistics support; Amphibious landings; Surface to surface missiles.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA194241
Entities
People
- Jacob W. Kipp