ABSTRACT
Anticarrier warfare has been a major theme in Soviet naval development, operations, and exercises since the mid-1950s. The Soviet approach to this problem has been to try to outrange US aircraft carriers by gradually extending the ocean areas over which the Soviet Navy can reasonably expect to deny access to those carriers. From 1961 through the early 1970s, the Soviets demonstrated their capability in anticarrier warfare exercises. Prior to 1967, the Soviet Navy was too weak to be used in response to Western naval power in crisis situations. The Soviets' greatest threats to aircraft carriers are their attack and cruise missile-equipped submarines. Submarines are a significant threat because of their stealth and antiship weaponry, but they cannot be massed in multiple waves to saturate carrier defenses—a distinct advantage of aircraft. Soviet progress in anticarrier warfare has been impressive and has inhibited US naval responses to crises since 1967.
