Falco-Virgo:NORAD Exercise Includes C-12 Huron

NORAD has announced that an air defence exercise is to occur between 12:30 am and 2:30 am Wednesday morning in the skies of the Washington,D.C. area.Aircraft utilised will include F-16 Fighting Falcons;a C-12 Huron;an MH-65D Dolphin helicopter,which is used by the US Coast Guard to provide overwatch of the D.C. area;and a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182T.
Portions of the drill could be visible from the ground,with low level flights at around 2500 feet.If the weather is bad,the exercise will take place the following day.*
The C-12 Huron,manufactured by Raytheon Aircraft Corporation in the US,is based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and the Beechcraft 1900.Its Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop engines give it a top speed of 333 mph and a range of 2074 miles.Utilised by all four of the Department of Defense armed forces,the Huron's principal missions are focused on the tactical movement of cargo and passengers between military bases;embassy support;medevac;VIP transport;and light cargo transport.Equipped with Rockwell Collins avionics,it is regarded as the primary operations support aircraft,with a cargo capacity of 5,000 pounds.The C-12 has a maximum crew of two (pilot and co-pilot) and can carry up to 13 passengers.*
Raytheon Corp (RTN)

First In,First Out

Almost all U.S. Marines will be out of Iraq by next spring,said General James T. Conway,Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.The Marines have already begun moving equipment out of Anbar Province,the center of Marine operations in Iraq.Once national elections are held in December,the withdrawal will begin in earnest.
Around 30 Marines will remain to assist with oil platform security near Basra,helping the Iraqi Marine Corps,General Conway informed the National Press Club in Washington,D.C.In Anbar,the Marines struggled with foreign fighters pouring over the border with Syria.President Barack Obama has ordered all U.S. forces out of Iraq by December,2011.