Look, up in the Sacramento sky: Fighter jets this morning

Sacramento area residents may notice fighter jets at low altitude Thursday morning as air defense exercises are conducted over a wide swath of California.

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will conduct practice intercept and identification procedures.

The exercise is planned for 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. between Bishop, Inyo County and Sacramento. Residents may hear or see low-flying NORAD-controlled fighter jets in close proximity to military or military-contracted aircraft.

NORAD conducts exercises with a variety of scenarios, including airspace restriction violations and responding to unknown aircraft.

NORAD has conducted exercise flights of the type scheduled for Thursday since the start of “Operation Noble Eagle,” the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

NORAD is the Canadian and American partnership that provides maritime warning, aerospace warning and aerospace control for the two countries.

This story was originally published November 6, 2014 at 8:24 AM with the headline "Look, up in the Sacramento sky: Fighter jets this morning."