North American Aerospace Defense Command will conduct multiple exercise flights next week in the skies in the vicinity of northern West Virginia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va. People may hear and see NORAD fighter aircraft in close proximity with DOD-contracted general aviation aircraft as they practice their intercept and identification procedures.
This exercise has been carefully planned and will be closely controlled to ensure the safety of the exercise and those participants in the area of operations. The exercise will test NORAD’s air sovereignty alert sites’ rapid response capability to an aerospace threat.
NORAD has conducted exercise flights of this nature throughout the U.S. and Canada since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the command’s response to the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001. Each exercise flight utilizes a scenario to test NORAD’s response, systems and equipment. Scenarios could include counter-drug operations, aircraft in distress, aircraft defecting, hijacking, unknown aircraft, Dangerous Military Activity, Temporary Flight Restriction violation or airborne terrorist.
For more information about NORAD intercept procedures, please refer to this Federal Aviation Administration link: http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/ATpubs/AIM/Chap5/aim0506.html
NOTE: The date and time of next week’s event is not known. More information to follow as the event gets closer.