§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the total number of SS20, SS4 and SS5 intermediate-range missiles deployed by the Soviet Union at the time of Mr. Brezhnev's announcement of a unilateral halt in deployment; what are the numbers now; where are the missiles located; and whether Her Majesty's Government or NATO will now publish the substantiating evidence which is understood to be available.
§ Lord BelsteadWhen Mr. Brezhnev announced a unilateral halt in the deployment of intermediate range missiles on 16th March 1982, the Soviet Union had 300 SS4 and SS5 missiles deployed with single warheads, and a further 900 warheads on 300 SS20 missiles.
Currently about 250 SS4 and 5 missiles remain deployed, all in the European part of the USSR, and 333 SS20 missiles with nearly 1,000 warheads are operational, two-thirds facing west. The remainder face east but could be moved within range of Western Europe if required.
Information on these missiles has been published in the NATO Force Comparisons paper and in the US booklet Soviet Military Power.