Soviets Snap-Check Defense Plant

The Russians have come! The Russians have come!

But who’s sweating? They’re just here to look.

As part of the recently adopted U.S.-Soviet arms deal, a team of Soviet missile experts arrived in San Diego at dawn Sunday to begin a snap inspection of a top-secret defense installation--the General Dynamics Plant No. 19.

Their mission? To ensure that high-tech launch systems for cruise missiles, which are banned under the treaty, are no longer produced at the plant.

The 10-man Soviet team is just one of five groups dispatched to the Western United States to conduct the initial on-site inspections that are the backbone of the arms deal signed by President Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev at the recent Moscow summit.

All 50 Soviet technicians arrived at Travis Air Force Base on Saturday evening. After going through Customs, the squad broke up into groups of 10 and were flown on U.S. military jets to the various installations affected by the treaty.

Outfitted in suits and ties, the team assigned to General Dynamics arrived at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field aboard an Air Force C-141 about 6:30 a.m. After a short press conference, the Soviets rolled up their sleeves and began work.

U.S. military officials say the Soviet inspectors were given virtual carte blanche to roam about the massive, 1.6-million-square-foot General Dynamics plant just off Interstate 5 in search of any clues that might suggest the treaty is being broken.

“In effect, they’ve got the run of the place,” said Rick Huling, an Air Force spokesman.

Huling said the Soviets can look anywhere in the plant, opening doors and rummaging through any containers large enough to hold components from the banned missile systems.

Some sections of the plant containing top-secret projects were shrouded with tarps, but the Soviets were permitted to lift the coverings long enough to determine that a missile launcher or other key component was not hidden there, Huling said.

“From what I can see, this being the first visit, things are a bit on the formal side,” he said. “I expect it will warm up during later visits.”

The Soviet team is expected to conclude their inspection about mid-morning today, Huling said.