Architect of Soviet radio-electronic warfare
At the 1972 Helsinki SALT I talks, he told the American delegation that Soviet missiles with their electronic countermeasures would pass through US ABM defenses 'like a knife through butter.' The Americans signed the treaty soon after.
Minister of the Radio Industry of the USSR from 1974 to 1987, he built the technological foundation of Soviet radio-electronic warfare (REB) and air-defense radar systems. As director of TsNII-108, he oversaw development of the USSR's first wide-range airborne automatic radio reconnaissance station 'Romb-1' and passive-homing anti-radiation missile guidance systems. As minister, he directed electronic countermeasures for penetrating US missile defenses, space-based radio reconnaissance, and the early-warning radar network. He led the 'anti-SDI' program countering Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, placing him at the center of Cold War electronic warfare competition.
Career Timeline
- 1944–1945Engineer at Red Army Communications Research Institute (NIIIS); deployed to 3rd Belorussian and Transbaikal Fronts
- 1945–1950Senior researcher and laboratory chief at TsNII-108
- 1950–1952Officer in 5th Main Directorate (radio reconnaissance and countermeasures); two missions to North Korea during Korean War
- 1952–1958Department and sector chief at TsNII-108; developed Romb-1 reconnaissance station and anti-radiation missile guidance
- 1958–1964Director of TsNII-108, Engineer-Colonel
- 1964–1968Deputy Chairman of State Committee for Radioelectronics, Deputy Minister of Radio Industry
- 1968–1974First Deputy Minister of Radio Industry
- 1974–1987Minister of Radio Industry; promoted to General-Colonel
Related historical events
Korean War Radio Reconnaissance Missions
From 1950 to 1952, Pleshakov served as an officer in the 5th Main Directorate of the Soviet Military Ministry, the agency responsible for radio reconnaissance and electronic countermeasures, and was deployed twice on special missions to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The 5th Main Directorate was building the Red Army's radio-electronic warfare (REB) capability, and the Korean War offered the first opportunity to test Soviet radio reconnaissance equipment under combat conditions.
Pleshakov's mission was to field-test new radio-technical reconnaissance apparatus designed to intercept and analyze American and UN radar and communications signals. The Soviet Union was developing airborne wide-range automatic radio reconnaissance systems at the time, and the air war over Korea served as a proving ground where these systems' performance could be validated in real combat. The data and experience he gathered on these missions directly informed his later work at TsNII-108, where he led development of the 'Romb-1' airborne reconnaissance station and passive-homing anti-radiation missile guidance systems.
These operational deployments left Pleshakov with two defining convictions: that electronic warfare must be treated as an independent operational domain rather than a communications auxiliary, and that countering American electronic superiority required a dedicated research establishment and industrial base. These insights drove the large-scale expansion of Soviet REB systems he later pursued as head of the Radio Industry Ministry.