More low-flying aircraft and loud noises are coming to the D.C. area — this time overnight.
NORAD will conduct an air-defense exercise over the National Capital Region between midnight and 5:30 a.m. each day from tonight (Tuesday) through Thursday, July 2, according to an AlertDC notice. Some aircraft could fly as low as 1,000 feet and may be visible from the ground.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will conduct routine live-fly exercises over the National Capital Region between June 30 and July 2 from midnight to 5:30 a.m. Expect low flying aircraft, loud noises. All NORAD exercises are carefully planned and closely controlled.
The drill, Exercise Falcon Virgo, is run by the Continental U.S. NORAD Region and involves F-16 fighter jets, a Coast Guard MH-65D Dolphin helicopter, a Navy King Air and a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182, NORAD said. The command regularly runs the exercises to practice intercepting unknown or threatening aircraft, with scenarios that include airspace violations and hijackings.
The overnight exercise adds to weeks of stepped-up military air activity over the region tied to the nation’s 250th birthday. Celebration flyovers have rolled across the area since mid-June, when a dozen helicopters flew down the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and over the Potomac, and have continued through weeks of military flyovers accompanying the Great American State Fair on the National Mall.
The NORAD exercise is a routine air-defense drill and is not part of the festivities.
The air activity culminates on Saturday, July 4 with “Salute to America,” an all-day program of flyovers around the Washington Monument that organizers say will end with the largest fireworks display in history. Aviation teams expected to take part include the Thunderbirds, the Blue Angels, the F-22 Raptor Demo Team and the Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II Demo Team.
The Fourth of July celebrations will also close DCA’s runways for much of July 3 and 4, with no flights scheduled after noon on the Fourth.
