WASHINGTON — The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is conducting training exercises over the D.C. region from midnight Wednesday into the early hours of Thursday morning.
NORAD and its geographical component, the Continental United States NORAD Region (CONR), announced it will conduct “exercise Falcon Virgo 18-05” until approximately 2:30 a.m. Thursday.
Exercise Falcon Virgo is designed to hone NORAD’s intercept-and-identification operations as well as operationally test both a visual warning system and personnel at the Joint Air Defense Operations Center.
Air Force C-21 aircraft, Civil Air Patrol C-182 aircraft, and a U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter will participate in the exercise.
These exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled to ensure CONR’s rapid-response capability, according to NORAD.
NORAD has conducted exercise flights of this nature throughout the U.S. and Canada since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the command’s response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
