Soviet naval diplomacy: deployments, logistics, and port access

Charles C. Peterson's chapter in Soviet Naval Diplomacy traces the growth of Soviet deployments beyond home waters from 1964. Between 1964 and 1973, surface-combatant ship-days outside home areas rose more than twenty-sixfold, compared with a fivefold increase for submarines. Surface warships consequently became more prominent instruments of naval diplomacy. Merchant shipping, especially tankers, and services purchased in foreign ports helped compensate for the absence of an expensive Western-style support fleet. Avoiding continuously high activity conserved resources for concentrated deployments during exercises and crises. Those sudden changes in presence influenced foreign assessments of Soviet strength, while better ocean surveillance helped the navy respond flexibly to other fleets. Its deployed amphibious forces could also produce political returns in situations less demanding than a transoceanic opposed landing.