JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- The Western Air Defense Sector will conduct air
defense exercise Felix Hawk over the Goldendale area of the Washington/Oregon
border April 1.
Exercise Felix Hawk tests WADS’ intercept and identification procedures with a
variety of scenarios involving possible hostile aircraft. Residents in the
Columbia River area near Goldendale, Brickleton and Arlington may observe F-15,
Cessna 182, and C-12 aircraft participating in the exercise between 10:30 a.m.
and 12:30 p.m. PDT. These training flights are coordinated with the Federal
Aviation Administration and the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace
Defense Command Region. The NORAD interceptor aircraft may fly at speeds in
excess of 250kts below 10,000 feet.
In the event of inclement weather, the exercise will be canceled.
These exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled to ensure WADS’
rapid-response capability. WADS has conducted these type exercise flights
throughout the western region since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the
command’s response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
WADS and its eastern counterpart - Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome, N.Y.,
are part of CONR, the continental United States geographical component of the
bi-national command NORAD. It provides airspace surveillance and control, and
directs air sovereignty activities for the CONUS region. CONR and its assigned
Air Force assets throughout the country ensure air safety and security against
potential air threats.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, NORAD fighters have responded to more than 5,000 possible
air threats in the United States, Canada and Alaska, and have flown more than
62,500 sorties with the support of Airborne Warning and Control System and
air-to-air-refueling aircraft.