ABSTRACT
Fleet versus fleet is Admiral Gorshkov’s term to describe the second of the two major roles of navies. Fleet versus fleet involves: the use of naval forces to combat an enemy’s naval forces at sea and in his bases; and maintaining one’s own sea lines of communication. Two fleet versus fleet missions have been listed as strategic goals and thus are associated with the ability to influence the outcome of war. These are: crushing an enemy’s military-economic potential, and destruction of major enemy groupings. Gorshkov describes in The Sea Power of the State the two chief roles of fleets as: tasks associated with strikes against the shore and protection of the homeland from strikes from an enemy fleet. Soviet Naval Aviation has been discussed primarily with regard to fleet versus fleet. In some 35 documents which discuss Soviet naval air missions, there are 31 individual citations that mention antisubmarine and 24 associations with an anti-surface ship role.
