NORAD Air Combat Exercises Over D.C. (Jan 31st)

http://usahitman.com/norad-jan31/

By Caitlin O’Brien
NBC Washington

Residents of D.C. and Virginia may see some odd scenes in the sky overnight.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has exercises planned for the Washington, D.C. and Richmond area.

Exercise flights will take place around the National Capital Region and the area between D.C. and Richmond as they practice intercept and identification procedures. Although they are scheduled for the early morning hours, the flights may be delayed if there are weather concerns.

People around the National Capital Region may see NORAD jets flying close to a military or military-contracted aircraft. The military says in order to test responses, systems and equipment, NORAD continuously conducts exercises like this with a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction, violations, hijackings and responding to unknown aircraft.

NORAD assures the public that exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled. Combat manuevers have been conducted in Canada and the U.S. since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, in response to the September 11, 2011 attacks.