The Super Bowl of Exercises

Fighters from the Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region will begin conducting training sorties over the skies of the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, site of the Feb. 2 Super Bowl, around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to a Jan. 28 release. The NORAD air defense exercise, known as Exercise Amalgam Virgo 14-01, will allow participants to practice procedures for responding to airspace violations. The exercise will be conducted in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, the Civil Air Patrol, the 601st Air and Space Operations Center, and CONR’s Eastern Air Defense Sector, states the release. “There are a lot of interagency partners involved in the air defense of this year’s Super Bowl,” said Lt. Gen. William Etter, CONR commander. “With multiple agencies involved, coordination between all air-defense partners is crucial. This exercise allows all the interagencies to come together before the game to hone their air defense skills and ensure communications are working properly.”