Air patrols over NYC, Capital to end

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Posted 7:57AM on Wednesday, March 20, 2002

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon plans to end the practice of round-the-clock fighter air patrols over New York City and Washington that began as last-ditch defensive measures after the Sept. 11 attacks. The first substantial reduction in fighter patrols since the suicide hijackings is to take effect by mid-April, several senior defense officials said Tuesday. Both New York and Washington will continue to be monitored with occasional fighter patrols, and fighters will remain on short-notice alert at air bases across the country in case of emergency. The plan, approved by the White House but not yet publicly announced, would leave room for changes in the location, frequency and intensity of fighter air patrols across the country depending on the military's assessment of air threats. Defense officials discussed some details of the plan Tuesday on condition they not be identified. At the highest threat level, known as Level One, a large number of fighters would patrol continuously over many major cities. At Level Four, the lowest level, fighters would fly intermittent patrols over randomly selected cities and other fighters would be on short-notice alert, but there would be no 24-hour patrols, the officials said. Under the current system, fighter jets at about 30 bases across the country stand ready to launch on 15 minutes' notice of an airborne threat. Fighters also fly 24-hour patrols over two cities, with one set of fighters over New York and two sets over Washington. An undisclosed number of additional fighters fly combat air patrols intermittently over dozens of other cities. As a last resort, the fighter pilots would have authority to shoot down a hijacked aircraft. The new arrangement reflects the fact that security on commercial airliners and at airports - considered the first line of defense against suicide hijackers - has been strengthened since Sept. 11. It also reflects shortened response times for fighter jets on ``strip alert,'' in part because new links between military and Federal Aviation Administration radars give a better picture of potential air threats, officials said. The Air Force has argued for changes in the air defense plan. A large number of fighter jets and pilots, plus maintenance and other support crews, are being diverted from their normal training for combat. The patrols cost the Air Force as much as $60 million a week. Regardless of the threat level, intermittent patrols will still be flown over a number of cities and sensitive facilities. Special events like the World Series that draw tens of thousands of people will draw extra patrols. Publicly, the Bush administration has been imprecise about the new approach, mainly to prevent potential attackers from predicting with confidence which cities are defended and when. The administration also is worried that Americans will interpret the change as a lowering of defenses against terrorists like the Sept. 11 hijackers. In addition, New York lawmakers cried foul over news reports that continuous patrols would be maintained over Washington but not New York and urged the administration to reconsider. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., called it a ``glaring example of letting our guard down.'' At the White House, spokesman Ari Fleischer said Tuesday the public should not think air defenses are being weakened. Fleischer declined to provide details of the Pentagon plan.