The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), in coordinationwith the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Air Force RapidCapabilities Office, is conducting a series of tests through Jan. 20of a ground-based low-intensity Visual Warning System in the NationalCapital Region.
The system being tested is intended to warn pilots who are violatingthe Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) established by the FAA overWashington D.C. During the tests, citizens in the area mayoccasionally see beams of red and green lights in the sky during thehours of darkness.
VWS is a ground-based system that uses safety-tested low-level beamsof alternating green and red laser lights to alert pilots that theyare flying without approval in designated airspace. These visuallyconspicuous lights, distinct from other light signals currently usedby FAA Air Traffic Control, are designed to provide a clear warning topilots who enter the ADIZ without authorization and cannot becontacted on VHF voice radio by Air Traffic Control. The lights are sodesigned that illumination levels are eye-safe and non-hazardous atall ranges. Only aircraft that are unauthorized or unidentified andunresponsive would be visually warned.
This visual warning system being tested — and when implemented(pending a Letter of Non-Objection from the FAA) — is designed toprompt immediate action by the pilot to contact Air Traffic Controland exit the ADIZ. The employment of VWS would be accompanied by aSpecial Advisory Notice from the FAA describing the lights andprescribing action.
There is no correlation between the lasers being reported on by thenews media as the VWS is only being tested in the National CapitalRegion. Please contact the FBI for information on the lasers beingreported on in various states, as they are the lead agencyinvestigating those reports.
Michael D. Kucharek
Chief of Media Relations
NORAD and Northern Command Public Affairs
