The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, was expected to conduct exercise flights over the Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound today.
The flights to practice interception and identification procedures originally were scheduled Wednesday but were delayed until today, said Lt. Cmdr. Bill Lewis, a NORAD spokesman.
NORAD said those in and around Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia might hear or see fighter jets close to military or military-contracted aircraft.
Those aircraft were taking on the role of “tracks of interest.”
NORAD said in a statement the flights originate from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
Testing responses
To test responses, systems and equipment, NORAD conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios, including airspace-restriction violations, hijackings and responding to unknown aircraft.
NORAD has conducted exercise flights of this nature throughout Canada and the U.S. since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the command’s response to the terrorist attacks that occurred Sept. 11, 2001.
NORAD is the binational Canadian and American command that provides maritime warning, aerospace warning and aerospace control for Canada and the United States.
The command has three subordinate regional headquarters: the Alaskan NORAD Region at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; the Canadian NORAD Region at Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg, Manitoba; and the Continental NORAD Region at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.
For more information about NORAD, visit www.norad.mil.
