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PSYOP
PSYOP in military jargon was a series of US psychological warfare operations commenced in the early months of the Reagan administration. These operations consisted mainly of naval and air probes near Soviet boundaries. The activity was nigh on invisible except to a small circle of White House and Pentagon officials--and, of course, to the Kremlin. The program also probed for gaps and vulnerabilities in the USSR's early warning intelligence system. -
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Soviet War Scare of 1983
All of the information I had obtain are from:
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/a-cold-war-conundrum/source.htm#HEADING1-11' >A Cold War Conundrum: The 1983 Soviet war Scare - Central Intelligence Agency -
Operation RYAN (РЯН)
Operation RYAN was a new intelligence collection effort by the KGB & the GRU. “The 1981 KGB assessment was more of a long-range forecast than a storm warning, but the Politburo issued what amounted to a full-scale hurricane alert” (Central Intelligence Agency). In May 1981 before a closed session of KGB officers, Andropov and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev made a joint attendance. RYAN’s purpose: to monitor signs and provide early warning of US war preparations. -
US, British, & Norweigan Combined Fleet Exercise in the GIUK Gap
US, British, & Norwegian combined fleet of 83 warships led by the aircraft carrier Eisenhower sail through the GIUK or Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom Gap undetected using a wide range of carefully crafted and rehearsed concealment and deception measures. The allied fleet used various measures to ensure their concealment (radio silence, transmission of false radar signals, & radar jamming) & even slip past a low-orbiting Soviet active-radar satellite that was launched to detect them. -
Whisky on the Rocks
The incident happened off the south coast of Sweden, approximately 10 km from Karlskrona, a Swedish naval base involving Soviet submarine S-363 Whiskey-class submarine of the Baltic Fleet, which became famous under the designation U 137 when it ran aground on October 27, 1981. After 10 days of unfriendliness between the Swedish & Soviet naval forces on November 5 it was towed off the rocks by tugs and escorted into international waters ending the Whisky on the rocks incident. -
KGB Field Stations Receive 1st Set of RYAN Requirements
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Soviet submarine S-363 Whiskey-class submarine of the Baltic Fleet is released into international waters
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KGB Center Transmits Additional Guidance
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High Ranking KGB Officer sent to Washington to Oversee Colection of Indications-and-Warning Intelligence
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Reagan Announces the SDI Program
President Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Dubbed the "Star Wars" program by the media SDI is a plan for space & ground-based laser-armed antiballistic missile that would, if deployed, shield the US from attack by nuclear weapons. The Soviets were knocked for six by the announcement. -
Andropov Lashes Out
Andropov accused the United States of preparing a first-strike attack on the Soviet Union and proclaimed that President Reagan was "inventing new plans on how to unleash a nuclear war in the best way, with the hope of winning it." -
KAL 007 Incident
At 3:26 a.m. Tokyo time on the 1st of “September 1983, a Soviet Su-15 interceptor fired two air-to-air missiles at a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 airliner, Flight 007, destroying the aircraft and killing all 269 crewmembers and passengers” (Central Intelligence Agency). The shoot down of KAL 007 was taken advantage by the Reagan Administration to "punish" the Soviets through commercial lawsuits, boycotts, and denial of landing rights for Aeroflot. -
Able Archer Begins
The 1983 annual NATO command post exercise designated ABLE ARCHER 83 was an exercise the Soviets were familiar with from previous years, however the 1983 version included two important changes. In the original scenario, ABLE ARCHER 83 was to include high-level officials, with cameo role appearances by the President and the Vice President. ABLE ARCHER 83 furthermore included a practice drill that took NATO forces through a full-scale virtual release of nuclear ordnances. -
Able Archer Ends
During Able Archer, the USSR fear of a first strike by the US escalates into the Soviets preparing for a preemptive strike against the US. In-between 1981-83, the Soviet's Operation RYAN had provided not misinformation but rather misinterpretations of US & NATO activities as a sign of pre-emptive strike against the USSR. The Soviet war scare dies down quickly after the conclusion of Able Archer 83. It would take a year before the Reagan administration fully realized how close Armageddon was.
