North American Aerospace Defense Command will conduct air defense exercise flights along the Pacific coast and over the states of Colorado and Nebraska between 9:00 a.m. and noon Pacific today.
NORAD F-15s, F-16s, a United States Air Force C-17 and a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 will participate in the exercise and will fly no lower than 10,000 feet above ground level. The exercise flights should not affect the public.
To test responses, systems and equipment, NORAD routinely conducts exercises using a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction violations, hijackings and responding to unknown aircraft. All NORAD exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled.
The defense of Canada and the U.S. is NORAD’s top priority. NORAD forces are on alert around the clock, every day. For more than 60 years, NORAD aircraft have identified and intercepted potential air threats to North America in the execution of the command’s aerospace warning and aerospace control missions; and maintain a watchful eye over our maritime approaches in the execution of its maritime warning mission.
Operation NOBLE EAGLE is the name given to the military response following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and applies to all air sovereignty and air defense missions in North America. NORAD is a bi-national command focused on the defense of both the U.S. and Canada, the response to potential aerospace threats does not distinguish between the two nations, and draws on forces from both countries.
