Planned NORAD Air Defence Exercise for North and South areas of US 

Yesterday, the North American Aerospace Defence Command conducted synchronous air defence exercise flights over Montana-Idaho-Washington, New Mexico-Arizona, and along the eastern seaboard. 

NORAD F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, along with C-130, C-17, KC-135, and a Beechcraft Baron general aviation aircraft participated in the exercise. None of the planned exercise on February 26, 2020, took place below 6,000 ft and so the public were not affected.  

NORAD routinely conducts exercises using a variety of scenarios, such as hijackings, responding to unknown aircraft, and airspace restriction violations. These exercises are completed in order to test responses, systems, and equipment, with all tasks being carefully planned and closely controlled. NORAD is primarily concerned with potential air threats to North America, and work on identifying and intercepting these as their main priority. 

All air sovereignty and air defence missions in North America are part of Operation NOBLE EAGLE. As a bi-national command, NORAD does not distinguish between Canada and the US, drawing on defence forces from both countries as needed.