NORAD Scrambles F-16s

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) scrambled fighter jets on Friday, 25 August 2023 for purpose of intercepting a civilian aircraft.

The aircraft, of as-of-yet-undisclosed make and model strayed too near a Lake Tahoe, California locale in which Joe and Jill Biden were then vacationing.

The crews of two U.S. Air Force F-16s fired flares to secure the attention of the interloping civilian pilot before escorting him and his aircraft out of the restricted airspace without further incident.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter also took part in the intercept.

Information pertaining to the civilian aircraft and its pilot has yet to be released.

In an “X” (formerly Twitter) post, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi reported the incursion was “not of protective interest” and had no impact on Secret Service operations.

In a separate statement, White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton set forth the Bidens—who are slated to return to Washington D.C. after a week of vacationing in the Lake Tahoe region—had not been impacted by the incident.

Biden’s latest recreational jaunt adds an additional week to the known 360 vacation days the eighty-year-old has racked up during his stay in the White House.

All told, Biden has spent nearly forty-percent of his term vacationing.

FMI: www.norad.mil