North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-16 fighter jets intercepted two general aviation aircraft that flew into restricted airspace over Bedminster, New Jersey, on Aug. 9, the command said.
President Donald Trump was at his golf club in Bedminster for the weekend, arriving the evening of Aug. 7 and departing back for Washington on Aug. 9, according to his public schedule. The club hosted the LIV Golf New York tournament from Aug. 6 to Aug. 9.
Both aircraft were escorted out of the area safely, according to a statement from the Continental U.S. NORAD Region at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, which runs the mission. NORAD said in a post on X that it had intercepted multiple aircraft while 1st Air Force put the number at two.
The restrictions had been announced days earlier. On Aug. 6, NORAD said it would enforce multiple VIP temporary flight restriction areas over New Jersey established by the Federal Aviation Administration for the weekend.
Such restrictions close off a defined block of airspace for a set period and are published in advance through Notices to Airmen, which pilots are required to check before every flight. The FAA issues them for presidential movements and other events and NORAD enforces them.
In the Aug. 6 announcement, the command said aircraft violating the restrictions would be met with whatever action was needed to gain compliance, and urged pilots to avoid that outcome.
NORAD also said the public may see U.S. Army ground-based air defense equipment in the same region. Those systems operate under NORAD authorities and work alongside its aircraft as part of what it described as a layered defense network of radars, satellites, and fighter jets.
The command tied the posture to Operation Noble Eagle, the name it gives to all of its aerospace warning, control, and defense missions in North America. NORAD describes the operation as deterring, detecting, and defeating potential threats to U.S. and Canadian airspace around the clock.
NORAD used the opportunity to remind pilots that if they are intercepted, they should immediately tune to 121.5 or 243.0 and reverse course until given further instructions on one of those frequencies.