New Details of US Defense Response to 9/11 Attacks Revealed: Aviation Week & Space Technology Reports Highest Level Alert Closed NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain.

Business Editors, Defense/Aerospace Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 2002

Aircraft Scramble Within Minutes, Searching for Planes

Without Transponders

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) faced tremendous challenges in protecting the nation on September 11, and the June 3 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology provides exclusive coverage of its rapid military response in an effort to prevent further terrorist attacks.

AW&ST reports the Norad command center deep inside Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs, Colo. received an order -- possibly from President Bush -- to move to Force Protection Condition Delta, a wartime posture, and its massive steel doors were closed for the first time in its 43-year history due to a real threat. At one point, the Secret Service wanted to get Bush into Cheyenne Mountain, protected by tons of granite yet well-connected to his staff. However, advisors convinced the commander-in-chief he should "remain visible to the public," an officer told the magazine.

According to the AW&ST report, Norad's North American Aerospace Defense Command's Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) in Rome N.Y. was first notified by Boston Center of the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11 at 8:40 a.m. EDT. Orders to scramble two F-15 fighters sitting alert at Otis Air National Guard Base, Mass., were immediately given without the normal clearances, which would have included approval from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "I told him to scramble; we'll get clearances later," Brig. Gen. Larry Arnold said.

Lt. Col. Timothy "Duff" Duffy, a 102 Fighter Wing F-15 pilot at Otis ANGB and also an airline pilot jammed his F-15's throttles into afterburner and flew the 153 miles to New York City at supersonic speeds. "I just wanted to get there. I was in full-blower all the way," he told AW&ST.

Back at the NEADS Operations Center, personnel were sorting thousands of green dots on their radar scopes showing "primary" returns, looking for American Flight 11. Since terrorists had turned-off the Boeing 767's transponder, FAA controllers could only tell NEADS technicians where the flight had last been seen.

Ironically, FAA officials only a few months earlier had tried to dispense with "primary" radars altogether, opting to rely solely on transponder returns as a way to save money. Norad had emphatically rejected the proposal.

Flight 11 was found on the radar, but almost as soon as it was discovered it disappeared at 8:46 a.m. Flying supersonically, the F-15s were still 8 min. from Manhattan when United Airlines Flight 175 smashed into the WTC's south tower at 9:02 a.m. Lt. Col. Duffy saw the destruction of the World Trade Center and asked for clarification of his mission, but was met with considerable confusion. Quickly, however, officers and enlisted troops immediately reverted to their professional roles, trying to sort rumor from fact and get as many fighters in the air as possible, reports the magazine.

At the time, Norad had 20 fighters on armed alert throughout the North American continent. Only 14 were in the continental U.S. at seven bases; the rest were in Alaska and Canada. Within 18 hours, 300 fighters would be on alert at 26 locations. F-16s at Langley AFB, Va. were ordered to scramble at 9:24 a.m., and were airborne in 6 minutes, headed for Washington, according to AW&ST.

"We had all of our armed fighters in the air, but needed more," NEADS commander Col. Robert K. Marr, Jr. reported later. Every unit in the northeastern U.S. was loading F-16s, F-15s and A-10s with any armament available, then being directed to combat air patrols over major cities. Soon, Navy F/A-18s, F-14s and E-2Cs -- some from two carriers steaming off the east coast -- were flying missions over major cities. Ultimately, Navy P-3s and USAF/ANG C-130s would be pressed into service, using their normal radars to search for intruders.

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EDITORS NOTE: Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief Bill Scott is available to provide additional insight and/or interviews on the activities of Norad on September 11.