F-16 jets, military copter over DC at midnight

As part of a post 9/11 training and preparedness military mission, F-16 jets, a coast guard helicopter and civil patrol aircraft will be flying over the Washington D.C. area from midnight to 2 a.m. on Wednesday, officials said on Tuesday.

Exercise "Falcon Virgo 11-05" will allow NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) to hone its "intercept and identification" operations and test a visual warning system, the U.S.-Canadian based agency said.

The exercises will test the abilities of the U.S. component of the agency. Similar exercises have been conducted in major U.S. and Canadian cities since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The flights will be moved to the next day in case of bad weather. If weather problems continue, a decision will be made to postpone or cancel the exercise.

The U.S. component of NORAD, Continental United States NORAD Region (CONR) has responded to more than 3,400 possible air threats in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001.

(source:ibtimes.com)