The History of Traffic Analysis – WWI – Vietnam Part 7 of 8

Korean War – Air Force

Intercepts of Soviet-built MiG fighter aircraft radio traffic confirmed the long-held suspicion that Russians were controlling the air defense of North Korea and Manchuria, not the Chinese or the North Koreans: “…we were actually monitoring the Soviet Air Force fighting the American Air Force, and we were listening to the Soviet pilots being directed by Soviet ground controllers to fight American pilots.

We were fighting our own little war with the Soviets.”(38) That information, from pilots’ and ground controllers’ plain language conversations and T/A on callsigns and procedures, gave the policy makers firm information upon which to make a decision of enormous proportions—whether to confront the Soviets with a distinct possibility of starting WWIII or to let the respective air forces continue the fighting under false pretenses. Obviously the U.S. policy makers chose the latter course of action.