Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-18 Hornet fighter jets, under the control of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), practiced identification and intercept of U.S. Strategic Command bombers on May 11 to demonstrate the air defense capabilities of Canada and the United States.

The B-1B bombers as it entered the Canadian Air Defense Identification Zone and again as it entered the Continental U.S. NORAD Region were intercepted by RCAF CF-18 Hornets and USAF F-16 Fighting Falcons.

NORAD CF-18s and F-16s, supported by KC-135 stratotankers, conducted intercepts of the USSTRATCOM B-1s as it entered the Canadian Air Defense Identification Zone and again as it entered the Continental U.S. NORAD Region, according to recent service statement.

“Conducting multiple intercepts across NORAD’s Canadian and Continental U.S. Regions exercised our ability to defend the homelands,” said General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, Commander NORAD. “While we are combatting COVID-19 we remain closely linked with our other combatant commands. Our collective work enhances our ability to deter, detect and, if necessary, defeat any threat to North America.”

NORAD employs a layered defense network of radars, satellites, and fighter aircraft to identify aircraft and determine the appropriate response. The identification and monitoring of aircraft entering a U.S. or Canadian ADIZ demonstrates how NORAD executes its aerospace warning and aerospace control missions for the United States and Canada.