ABSTRACT
Jan Breemer is quite correct in his astute differentiation between observed threat capabilities and net capabilities, which amount to "a much more complicated equation than the 'bean counting' of ships and missiles." This chapter highlights certain Soviet liabilities-the lack of air cover, command and control weaknesses, problems of coordinating the Warsaw Pact navies and the weak decision-making ability of the navy's midlevel management perhaps being the most significant. As one of history's greatest maritime nations, the United Kingdom is well aware of the value of naval power. Nonetheless, her location in the far western sector of NATO, her problems and relationships with her West European neighbors and in Northern Ireland, and her affairs with the Commonwealth have all reduced the Soviet Navy's political impact in London.
