The 180th Fighter Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard will be conducting training flights at night beginning Monday, Feb. 13 through Thursday, Feb. 16, weather permitting. Area residents may see or hear F-16 fighter jets taking off and landing until about 9 p.m. this week.
Training flights normally take place during daylight hours, but F-16 pilots and maintenance personnel are required to conduct night operations as part of their overall readiness training. The 180th Fighter Wing appreciates the continued support from the citizens of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan as we continue to train in support of our mission.
Also this week, Alert fighter jets from the 180th Fighter Wing will conduct a test of the Aerospace Control Alert system on Monday, Feb. 13, between 5:30 and 9 p.m. The purpose of the event is to exercise coordination between the Eastern Air Defense Sector, Federal Aviation Administration and 180th Fighter Wing.
Those living in and around the Toledo area may hear and/or see fighter jets in close proximity to a Civil Air Patrol aircraft, which will be taking on the role of a Track of Interest (TOI). A TOI is an aircraft that has been identified as a potential threat.
Although scheduled for the evening, the exercise flights could be delayed or canceled due to inclement weather.
Aerospace Control includes maintaining air sovereignty and air defense through the surveillance and control of airspace over Canada and the U.S. These types of exercises are conducted on a routine basis as part of North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Operation Noble Eagle, which was initiated after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
