American Notes ALASKA

* Even as the U.S. and the Soviet Union discuss deep cuts in nuclear missiles, a different Soviet threat is appearing on a new front. Last Thursday, two newly modified Tu-95 "Bear" long-range bombers, flying out of Siberia, were spotted winging toward Alaska's southwest coast. Two F-15 interceptors scrambled to put a "cap" on top of the aircraft, until the bombers turned back 115 miles from U.S. territory. On May Day, two high-flying Bears closed to within 50 miles of Alaska; then an AWACS surveillance plane picked up two more Soviet bombers coming in low to avoid ground radar. Air Force fighters quickly capped those planes as well.

Soviet mock-bombing sorties, unlike the traditional reconnoitering flights practiced by both superpowers, have become increasingly common in the past year, according to Aviation Week & Space Technology. In the early 1980s the Alaskan Air Command intercepted only ten to 15 Soviet scout flights annually, but already this year U.S. F-15s have confronted 20 Bears. Each Soviet bomber is armed with as many as ten cruise missiles with a range of 1,500 miles; from Alaskan airspace, these weapons could reach U.S. missile sites in the Dakotas and Montana.