National Underwater Reconnaissance Office
Encyclopedia
The National Underwater Reconnaissance Office (NURO) is the “hidden younger brother” of the National Reconnaissance Office
(NRO). NRO was initiated in 1960 and developed as a common office for United States Air Force
and the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) to manage satellite reconnaissance. The first revelation about NRO came in 1973, but its very existence was not declassified until 1992. According to Jeffrey T. Richelson
, “[m]ost often the Under Secretary of the Air Force served as a Director of the NRO”. NURO was initiated in 1969 and developed as a common office or liaison office for the United States Navy
and the CIA to manage underwater reconnaissance. NURO used “special project submarines” like USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
, USS Halibut
(SSN-587), and USS Parche (SSN-683)
deep inside the waters of the Soviet Union
to put out listening devices, tap communication cables, monitor Soviet Navy
bases and record sound signatures of Soviet submarines. NURO is a little known agency, even its name has been secret and its very existence was first revealed in 1998. The United States Secretary of the Navy
has served as its director.
Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew argue that the origin of NURO was the Soviet submarine K-129
that had sunk outside Hawaii in March 1968. When ‘’USS Halibut’’ had returned half a year later with 22,000 photos of the Soviet submarine the CIA realized the significance of underwater reconnaissance. NURO was initially formed by CIA Director Richard Helms
and dominated by the CIA: “from the day NURO was formed, the CIA [with its Deputy Director for Science and Technology Carl Duckett] took charge. [Captain James] Bradley [from U.S. Naval Intelligence] could spare only a few people for the new office. His entire staff in the undersea part of Office of Naval Intelligence
numbered only about a few dozen. The CIA, however, had no such constraints. It moved in with eight permanent staffers and more consultants loyal to the agency”. The Navy prepared to go down with a midget submarine
to K-129. However, the CIA wanted the whole submarine. They built the ship ‘’Glomar Explorer’’ (now GSF Explorer) to raise K-129, which became very expensive (up to 500 million dollars). From mid-1970s, the CIA lost its day-to-day control of NURO. Captain James Bradley was able to conduct his own special project operations. Through Bradley it was a direct link to General Alexander Haig
and Henry Kissinger
. 1972-74, the Secretary of Navy John Warner
was the Director of NURO.
The Chief Scientist of the U.S. Navy, John Piña Craven
, argues that Bradley was a Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA) officer at the Office of Naval Intelligence. Craven was a close colleague of Bradley, and Craven seems to indicate that NURO actually was a liaison office not just between the CIA and the Navy but also between the CIA and the DIA using officers from Naval Intelligence. Also others indicate that NURO might have been a CIA-DIA liaison office.
NURO operations were conducted primarily in Soviet home waters using specially equipped nuclear powered attack submarines or “special project submarines”, but this intelligence gathering was, according to Ola Tunander
, just a part of NURO’s activity. He refers to a high-ranking CIA officer saying that NURO in the 1980s also run operations into the waters of friendly countries like the Scandinavian ones, into the archipelagos and naval bases of Sweden
. United States Secretary of Defense
Caspar Weinberger
stated in 2000 that their submarine operations into Swedish waters in the 1980s were run as a “routine, regular series of defense testing” after US-Swedish Navy-to-Navy consultations. However, these operations may also have had another purpose. The ABC TV-channel said in 1984 about the U.S. submarine intelligence gathering: “Most of the top-secret missions are into the waters of the Soviet Union, but according to both active duty and retired military sources, some missions have been run into the territorial waters of those nations considered friendly to the U.S. Even friendly countries, sources say, sometimes do things they don’t want the U.S. to know about, things that could inadvertently threaten U.S. security. The missions are conducted by specially equipped nuclear powered attack submarines and in some cases by a nuclear powered mini-sub called NR-1.” Tunander also says that during this period (1981-87), the Secretary of Navy John Lehman
was the Director of NURO.
National Reconnaissance Office
The National Reconnaissance Office , located in Chantilly, Virginia, is one of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. It designs, builds, and operates the spy satellites of the United States government.-Mission:...
(NRO). NRO was initiated in 1960 and developed as a common office for United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) to manage satellite reconnaissance. The first revelation about NRO came in 1973, but its very existence was not declassified until 1992. According to Jeffrey T. Richelson
Jeffrey T. Richelson
Jeffrey Talbot Richelson is an American author and academic researcher who studies the process of intelligence gathering and national security...
, “[m]ost often the Under Secretary of the Air Force served as a Director of the NRO”. NURO was initiated in 1969 and developed as a common office or liaison office for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and the CIA to manage underwater reconnaissance. NURO used “special project submarines” like USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
USS Seawolf (SSN-575)
USS Seawolf , a unique submarine, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seawolf, the second nuclear submarine, and the only U.S. submarine built with a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor....
, USS Halibut
USS Halibut
USS Halibut has been the name of more than one United States Navy ship, and may refer to:, a submarine in commission from 1942 to 1945, later SSN-587, a submarine in commission from 1960 to 1976...
(SSN-587), and USS Parche (SSN-683)
USS Parche (SSN-683)
USS Parche , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the parche , a small, coral reef butterfly fish.-Construction and commissioning:...
deep inside the waters of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to put out listening devices, tap communication cables, monitor Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
bases and record sound signatures of Soviet submarines. NURO is a little known agency, even its name has been secret and its very existence was first revealed in 1998. The United States Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
has served as its director.
Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew argue that the origin of NURO was the Soviet submarine K-129
Soviet submarine K-129
Soviet submarine K-129 may refer to one or both of the following submarines of the Soviet Navy:, a Golf-class diesel-electric ballistic missile submarine that sank in March 1968; partially salvaged by the United States Navy with the Glomar Explorer, a Delta III-class nuclear-powered ballistic...
that had sunk outside Hawaii in March 1968. When ‘’USS Halibut’’ had returned half a year later with 22,000 photos of the Soviet submarine the CIA realized the significance of underwater reconnaissance. NURO was initially formed by CIA Director Richard Helms
Richard Helms
Richard McGarrah Helms was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1966 to 1973. He was the only director to have been convicted of lying to the United States Congress over Central Intelligence Agency undercover activities. In 1977, he was sentenced to the maximum fine and received a suspended...
and dominated by the CIA: “from the day NURO was formed, the CIA [with its Deputy Director for Science and Technology Carl Duckett] took charge. [Captain James] Bradley [from U.S. Naval Intelligence] could spare only a few people for the new office. His entire staff in the undersea part of Office of Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
numbered only about a few dozen. The CIA, however, had no such constraints. It moved in with eight permanent staffers and more consultants loyal to the agency”. The Navy prepared to go down with a midget submarine
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...
to K-129. However, the CIA wanted the whole submarine. They built the ship ‘’Glomar Explorer’’ (now GSF Explorer) to raise K-129, which became very expensive (up to 500 million dollars). From mid-1970s, the CIA lost its day-to-day control of NURO. Captain James Bradley was able to conduct his own special project operations. Through Bradley it was a direct link to General Alexander Haig
Alexander Haig
Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. was a United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
and Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
. 1972-74, the Secretary of Navy John Warner
John Warner
John William Warner, KBE is an American Republican politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Senator from Virginia from January 2, 1979, to January 3, 2009...
was the Director of NURO.
The Chief Scientist of the U.S. Navy, John Piña Craven
John Piña Craven
John Piña Craven is known for his involvement with Bayesian search theory and the recovery of lost objects at sea....
, argues that Bradley was a Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
(DIA) officer at the Office of Naval Intelligence. Craven was a close colleague of Bradley, and Craven seems to indicate that NURO actually was a liaison office not just between the CIA and the Navy but also between the CIA and the DIA using officers from Naval Intelligence. Also others indicate that NURO might have been a CIA-DIA liaison office.
NURO operations were conducted primarily in Soviet home waters using specially equipped nuclear powered attack submarines or “special project submarines”, but this intelligence gathering was, according to Ola Tunander
Ola Tunander
Ola Tunander is a Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo in Oslo, Norway, He is the son of the Museum Director Ingemar Tunander and his first wife Gunvor . Ola Tunander is married to the Chinese scholar Yao Xiaoling...
, just a part of NURO’s activity. He refers to a high-ranking CIA officer saying that NURO in the 1980s also run operations into the waters of friendly countries like the Scandinavian ones, into the archipelagos and naval bases of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. United States Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger , was an American politician, vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987, making him the third longest-serving defense secretary to date, after...
stated in 2000 that their submarine operations into Swedish waters in the 1980s were run as a “routine, regular series of defense testing” after US-Swedish Navy-to-Navy consultations. However, these operations may also have had another purpose. The ABC TV-channel said in 1984 about the U.S. submarine intelligence gathering: “Most of the top-secret missions are into the waters of the Soviet Union, but according to both active duty and retired military sources, some missions have been run into the territorial waters of those nations considered friendly to the U.S. Even friendly countries, sources say, sometimes do things they don’t want the U.S. to know about, things that could inadvertently threaten U.S. security. The missions are conducted by specially equipped nuclear powered attack submarines and in some cases by a nuclear powered mini-sub called NR-1.” Tunander also says that during this period (1981-87), the Secretary of Navy John Lehman
John Lehman
John F. Lehman, Jr. is an American investment banker and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration and in 2003–04 was a member of the 9/11 Commission....
was the Director of NURO.