PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Just about once each month, North American Aerospace Defense Command personnel hone their airspace security response skills in a training exercise called Amalgam Arrow. The time of the live-fly is at 11 a.m. until noon EDT on June 10th, 2009.
Amalgam Arrow exercises are relatively short – usually lasting just one or two hours – and are designed to test NORAD's ability to detect and defend against unknown or unresponsive aircraft flying in Canada and the United States.
For instance, if an aircraft deviates from its filed flight plan, its identification beacon stops broadcasting, or communications with the aircraft are lost, NORAD along with the Federal Aviation Administration and a host of other federal airspace security agencies determine where the aircraft is, where it's headed, and whether or not fighters need to be launched.
“Amalgam Arrow exercises incorporate more than just hijacking scenarios,” said Brig Gen. Patrick Cord, NORAD Deputy Director of Operations. “An unknown aircraft could also just be having trouble with its navigation or communications system. We have to ask, ‘Are they simply undergoing an emergency where they can't talk to us, or they can't navigate?’ Or do they have some other type of intentions that we need to find out about and then take an appropriate action?"
The Amalgam Arrow exercises allow pilots and other personnel to practice getting fighters quickly to the aircraft in question and determining the intent of the people on board, he said.
"If it's simply an emergency, we're able to help that distressed aircraft," Brig. Gen. Cord said. "If it's not, then we're able to make some decisions as to what's next with respect to preventing this aircraft from causing a loss of life and property at some point along its corresponding flight path."
Amalgam Arrow exercises can either be "live-fly" – with actual civilian aircraft and NORAD fighters in the air – or they can be simulated.
During the exercises, while NORAD is actively engaged in detecting potential airborne threats and determining what actions to take, U.S. Northern Command is closely listening and watching every development.
“If that aircraft actually had an accident and crashed along the way, USNORTHCOM may be called in for what we call consequence management, depending on the severity of the incident,” said Michael Kucharek, U.S. Northern Command spokesperson. “This consequence management would consist of active duty support to the primary federal agency responsible for saving lives, mitigating suffering and restoring the incident site or sites back to useful condition.”
NORAD personnel have a "somber zeal" for their mission of defending U.S. and Canadian airspace, said Brig. Gen. Cord.
"That's the mission we were given," he said. "We practice it, and we take it very seriously, and we want the citizens of both the United States and Canada to know that there is a system out there and Canadian and American forces out there ready if that type of scenario plays out today."