The drill is designed to train pilots from the Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing in intercept and airborne tracking procedures.
Crews secure a F-15 Eagle at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield.WESTFIELD – A joint homeland air defense exercise involving F-15 fighter jets from Barnes Air National Guard Base and the Civil Air Patrol will be held on Thursday in the skies over the Cape and islands.
The drill is designed to train pilots from the Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing in intercept and airborne tracking procedures.
The F-15 jets will intercept the lower speed propeller aircraft flown by CAP pilots. The drill will test fighter pilots’ responses, systems and procedures and involve scenarios of airspace restriction violations, hijackings and unknown aircraft.
Maj. Sean Halbrook, head of Air Sovereignty Alert at Barnes, said “The 104th Fighter Wing takes its mission of homeland defense very seriously. This exercise, along with other drills, keeps the team prepared to support this 24/7 mission.”
The 9 to 11 a.m. exercise will take place over Provincetown, Hyannis, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.