The United States, Canada, and Russia will cooperatively respond to mock hijacked commercial aircraft during the live-fly portion of Vigilant Eagle 13 that kicks off on Tuesday over the Bering Sea. The first hijacked aircraft surrogate is slated to take off on Aug. 27 from Anchorage, Alaska, and will travel into Russian airspace. On Aug. 28, a surrogate will take off from Anadyr, Russia, and head into US airspace. In both scenarios, Canadian CF-18s and Russian Sukhois will scramble to identify and follow the hijacked aircraft. They will also practice handing off control of the aircraft to one another when it leaves one side’s airspace. Air Force and Russian command and control aircraft will also participate. “This is a small, relatively inexpensive exercise, with a huge payoff,” said Joseph Bonnet, NORAD’s director of joint training and exercises. The exercise runs through Friday. This is the fifth iteration of the Vigilant Eagle series since 2008 and the third in the series to incorporate a live-fly air defense component. (NORAD release) (AFPS report by Donna Miles)
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…