CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Feb 02, 2010 @ 10:36 PM
Look at the sky Thursday afternoon. You might see the “Fighting Falcons” overhead.
The Fighting Falcons, also known as F-16 dogfighter aircraft, will fly maneuvers over the Canton area as part of an air-defense training staged by members of the Toledo-based Ohio Air National Guard 180th Fighter Wing.
“There will probably be two or three in the air,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Gary Ross, serving at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Colorado. “They will probably be about 2,000 or 3,000 feet (above ground). It will be visible to people on the ground. These will be fighters escorting general aviation aircraft as part of the exercise.”
NORAD is coordinating the mock defense maneuvers nationwide, preparing military personnel to identify and defend against domestic hostile acts such as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The other aircraft will be flown by pilots under contract who will pose as enemy combatants. The 180th Fighter Wing will stage similar maneuvers Thursday afternoon over the Toledo and Youngstown areas.
“We have fighter jets throughout the country, and we need to train them in their environment,” said Ross by telephone from the Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. “We test throughout the country at various times to make sure their test procedures are up to the mark. Before Sept. 11 (2001), we basically looked outside Canada and the United States for intrusions. The difference now is we monitor all flights that are internal and external.”
NORAD, which began in the late 1950s, is a joint organization between the United States and Canada which started out with the intent of providing defense against possible attack by the Soviet Union by way of the Arctic.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, NORAD launched its Operation Noble Eagle initiative. It focuses on monitoring aircraft flying in the United States.
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