The flights are scheduled for the morning, but could be delayed due to weather concerns. The purpose of the exercise is to practice intercept and identification procedures.
The flights are scheduled to take place in the area between Providence and Plymouth, Mass. People in this area may hear and/or see NORAD-controlled fighter jets in close proximity to a military or military contracted aircraft, which will be taking on the role of aircraft of interest.
In order to test responses, systems and equipment, NORAD continuously conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction violations, hijackings and responding to unknown aircraft. All NORAD exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled.
NORAD has conducted exercise flights of this nature throughout Canada and the U.S. since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the command's response to the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.
NORAD is the bi-national Canadian and American command that provides maritime warning, aerospace warning and aerospace control for Canada and the United States.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter