The Nation : Soviet Planes Intercepted

Air Force F-15 jet fighters intercepted eight Soviet bombers near Alaska four times in eight days this month and chased the aircraft away from U.S. air space, a military spokesman said. Although there have been 15 other interceptions this year, “this is an unusual level of activity,” said Maj. Darrell C. Hayes of Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage. None of the Soviet bombers carried visible armaments, Hayes said, and none actually entered U.S. air space. In one encounter, he said, the Air Force obtained what is believed to be the first videotape ever made of the Soviet Bear-H bomber.