May 20, 2020
NORAD AIR DEFENSE EXERCISE PLANNED FOR CAPE CANAVERAL
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – The North American Aerospace Defense Command will conduct an air defense exercise over Cape Canaveral Thursday, May 21 between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. EST.
Aircraft participating in the exercise include Air Force F-15 fighter jets and Civil Air Patrol Cessna C182 and C206 general aviation aircraft. Some portions of the exercise could involve flights at approximately 3,000 feet and may be visible from the ground.
NORAD routinely conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction violations, hijackings and responses to unknown aircraft. All NORAD exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled.
Air defense exercises such as this are part of NORAD’s Operation NOBLE EAGLE, which places emphasis on the surveillance and control of airspace over Canada and the United States. The defense of North America is NORAD's top priority and NORAD remains 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 its aerospace warning and aerospace control missions, and maintain a watchful eye over Canadian and U.S. internal waterways and maritime approaches under its maritime warning mission.