[Scan-DC] NORAD exercise planned for Washington D.C.

[Alan Henney]

NORAD exercise planned for Washington D.C.

PETERSON AIR FORCE, Colo. The Continental United States NORAD Region a
regional headquarters assigned to the North American Aerospace Defense
Command will conduct a series of training flights October 11-12 over
the NCR (Washington D.C.), in coordination with the Federal Aviation
Administration, the National Capital Region Command Center, the Civil
Air Patrol, the Air Force Flight Standards Agency and the Northeast
Air Defense Sector.

The exercise, Falcon Virgo 06-01, is designed to test intercept and
identification operations. It will involve two F-16 fighter aircraft
out of Andrews Air Force Base, as well as two Cessna aircraft and a
C-21 flying at low altitudes along the Potomac River and around
Washington, D.C., during late night Tuesday/early morning Wednesday.
In the event of inclement weather, the exercise will roll over to
October 13.

NORAD has conducted exercises of this nature throughout the United
States and Canada since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and at
the start of Operation Noble Eagle. These ongoing exercises are
carefully planned and closely controlled to ensure NORAD's rapid
response capability.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, NORAD fighters have responded to more than 2,000
possible air threats in the United States, Canada and Alaska and have
flown more than 40,000 sorties with the support of Airborne Warning
and Control System (AWACS) and air-to-air-refueling aircraft.