NORAD, Russian Federation Air Force meet in Moscow to start planning the joint exercise Vigilant Eagle 14

Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. - Members of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and their Russian Federation Air Force counterparts met in Moscow this week to review the lessons learned from Vigilant Eagle 13 and to start planning for Vigilant Eagle 14.

Last year’s live-fly Vigilant Eagle 13 exercise took place August 27-28 in Anchorage, Alaska and Anadyr, Russia, and involved Russian, Canadian and U.S. military personnel and aircraft operating from command centers in Russia and the United States.  The Vigilant Eagle 14 exercise will be a Command Post Exercise (CPX) involving a more complex scenario, to be developed in the coming months.

“It is crucial to meet in person to discuss the successful execution of Vigilant Eagle 13 in order to improve and build on the lessons learned for the next exercise.  This conference in Moscow is also a great opportunity to share and discuss different ideas and scenarios for Vigilant Eagle 14,” said Mr. Joe Bonnet, Director of Joint Training and Exercises for NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. “As we continue to work with the Russian Federation Air Force and its professional members, we are creating lasting bonds and partnerships extremely valuable for the security of our three nations.”

Working in partnership with the Federal Aviation Agency and its Russian counterpart, the Vigilant Eagle Exercise Series focuses on national procedures for monitoring a situation, and the cooperative hand-off of a hijacked aircraft from one nation to the other while exchanging air track information.  All players focus on coordinating their response to the incident.

The U.S.-Russian Federation Armed Forces Military Cooperation Work Plan is the basis that allows the Russian Federation and NORAD personnel to conduct Vigilant Eagle conferences and execution.