F-35 Intercepts Aircraft Flying Through Restricted Airspace During Republican National Convention

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced Wednesday that Local Milwaukee residents were thoroughly surprised after an F-35 raced through the sky Wednesday afternoon to intercept an aircraft that had flown through restricted airspace surrounding Milwaukee, the location of the Republican National Convention.

The aircraft in question, a single-engine, two-passenger Van’s RV-6, was reported operating inside the temporary flight restriction (TFR) zone surrounding Milwaukee. 

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the TFR was implemented from July 14 to July 18, coinciding with the dates of the Republican National Convention. 
 

The plane was flying at an altitude of around 4,000 feet, 24 miles southwest of Downtown Milwaukee. NORAD Officials dispatched one F-35 fighter jet to intercept the aircraft at 3:30 p.m. local time after the pilot was not in constant communication with air traffic controllers. 
 

In a statement released by NORAD, the F-35 “located the general aviation aircraft in question and safely escorted them out of the area.”
 

According to flight tracking data, the pilot was flying from Rensselaer, Indiana, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, presumably for the upcoming Oshkosh Air Show from July 22 to July 28, 2024. 

The aircraft took off from Indiana at 2:37 p.m. local time and safely landed at Oshkosh at 4:11 p.m. after being escorted from Milwaukee by the F-35 fighter jet. 
 

TFR for the Republican National Convention

To ensure the safety of the attendees of the Republican National Convention, the FAA implemented a temporary flight restriction on the airspace over and surrounding Milwaukee. 

The RNC TFR included a surface-to-3,000-foot AGL (above ground level) restriction for a three-mile radius surrounding downtown Milwaukee, and a surface-to-17,999-foot MSL (mean sea level) restriction for a 10-mile and 30-mile radius from downtown Milwaukee. 
 

Based on the Republican National Convention Flight Advisory released by the FAA, pilots were expected to “remain in two-way radio communications with ATC at all times” and “squawk the ATC assigned discrete beacon code continuously during operation within the TFR.”
 

Based on reports from NORAD, the pilot of the Van’s aircraft did not communicate with air traffic control while within the 30-mile boundary of the TFR and was thus intercepted by the U.S. F-35 fighter jet.