See those Fighter Jets, Lake Elsinore? Don't Worry. It's only NORAD

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Did you hear a boom? Or see fighter jets chasing a plane overhead in Southwest Riverside County?

Don't worry. It's just a practice exercise according to the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command.

NORAD announced their intentions to conduct exercise flights on Tuesday between Julian and Irvine, California. According to release, the fighter aircraft practiced intercept and identification procedures.

The exercise was scheduled to take place between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

"California residents between Julian and Irvine may hear and/or see low-flying NORAD-
controlled fighter jets in close proximity to civilian aircraft, which will be taking on the role of an aircraft of interest," NORAD reported.

In order to test responses, systems and equipment, NORAD continuously conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction violations, hijackings and responding to unknown aircraft. All NORAD exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled.

Although scheduled to begin in the afternoon, the flights could be delayed for 24 hours or cancelled due to weather.

"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 on Sept. 11, 2001," they said.

NORAD is the bi-national 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 Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; the Canadian NORAD Region at Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg, Manitoba; and the Continental NORAD Region at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.

— By Ashley Ludwig (Patch Staff), Pixabay Image