Soviet Air Defence “Vulnerable”

Press, Volume C, Issue 29679, 24 November 1961, Page 13

Soviet Air Defence “Vulnerable”

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, November 23. A Russian Air Marshal had admitted publicly for the first time that Russia was vulnerable to attack from the air, the “Daily Telegraph” reported.

He was the war-time fighter ace. Air Marshal Savitsky, now in charge of the air a i of Russia’s anti-aircraft defence.

Writing in the Defence Ministry’s newspaper. “Red Star,” he warned anti-air-craft crews that the Western

Powers had "very serious means of attack.”

The “Daily Telegraph” report said he was particularly concerned about the fast, long-range bombers carrying atomic and hydrogen bombs. “Not only can they operate at tremendous speeds and heights, but they are also independent of weather conditions.

“You must also bear in mind that the enemy will protect himself from counteroperations by the large-scale use of radio interference,” he wrote.

He said he was not satisfied with the quality of the training of airmen for antiaircraft operations or the speed and accuracy with which the ground staff worked, the “Daily Telegraph” report said. There were instances, he wrote, where the “enemy” had been detected in go d time, but not intercepted by fighters until he was already over the target.

Yet, he wrote, this was regarded as interception. “Such a situation cannot be tolerated.”

The “Daily Telegraph” report said the Marshal’s criticism was in contrast with the usually optimistic tone of Russian military leaders' public statements on the state of Russia’s defences. The Defence Minister (Marshal Malinovsky) recently claimed that Russia had solved the problem of anti-missile defence. Air Marshal Savitsky’s remarks suggested that the men responsible for defence against air attack were less confident than the political leaders, the report said.