North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted 11 civilian aircraft that violated Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) airspace over Bedminster, New Jersey, during President Donald Trump’s July 4 weekend visit. The violations occurred across multiple days, with five unauthorized incursions on Saturday alone and additional breaches continuing through Sunday morning.
Newsweek reached out to NORAD via email on Sunday for comment.
Why It Matters
The U.S. military polices the airspace around the president, including over Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida or his Bedminster golf course, when he is there.
NORAD, made up of American and Canadian forces, has frequently intercepted aircraft that violate temporary restrictions in the airspace around the president.
TFR violations trigger automatic military responses, with NORAD deploying armed fighter aircraft to intercept and escort violating aircraft out of restricted zones. The Bedminster area is subject to multiple active Notice to Airmen or NOTAMs, specifically Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NOTAMs 1353, 1358, 2246, and 2247, which pilots are required to review before every flight.
NORAD employs a sophisticated layered defense network of radars, satellites, and fighter aircraft to identify and respond to potential threats. The identification and monitoring of civilian aircraft demonstrate how NORAD executes its aerospace warning and control missions for the U.S. and Canada.
The frequency of these violations strains military resources, requiring armed fighter aircraft to scramble for intercepts that could be prevented through proper pre-flight planning.
What To Know
The First Air Force at Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base said in a statement on Saturday that a NORAD fighter jet had intercepted a “general aviation aircraft” over Bedminster at approximately 2:39 p.m. ET. This is a broad term referring to non-commercial civilian aircraft.
A TFR was in place, the military said. The FAA puts out TFRs to air crews, which are enforced by NORAD. TFRs are typically put in place during presidential visits.
The fighter jet carried out what is known as a “headbutt maneuver” to get the attention of the civilian pilot before escorting the aircraft out of the area, the military said. This is a fairly typical maneuver for NORAD jets enforcing temporary restrictions in the airspace around where the president is.
The NORAD aircraft was an F-16, a spokesperson told Reuters.
The U.S. military had already reported three TFR violations earlier on Saturday, and a further incident later on in the evening brought the total to “five unauthorized incursions,” according to the statement.
Another incident occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. Combined with additional violations, the total reached 11 unauthorized airspace breaches over the holiday weekend.
The FAA, as of Sunday morning, had restrictions in place from July 4 until July 6.
Shortly after NORAD F-16 aircraft intercepted a civilian aircraft over Palm Beach, Florida, in early March, the command’s chief, General Gregory Guillot, condemned what he termed the “excessive number of recent TFR violations.”
NORAD said at the time that in the less than two months since Trump’s inauguration, NORAD had “responded to over 20 tracks of interest entering the Palm Beach, Florida TFR area.”
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
What People Are Saying
General Gregory Guillot, Commander, NORAD and US Northern Command, said in a Sunday statement: “NORAD and the FAA aim to keep the skies over America safe, with close attention paid to areas with Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President. TFR procedures are mandatory, and the excessive number of TFR violations this weekend indicates some civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA. NORAD armed fighter aircraft will intercept and guide offending aircraft out of the TFR.”
He added: “Should the pilot of an aircraft happen to find itself intercepted by either fighters or helicopters, they should immediately come up on frequency 121.5 or 243.0 and turn around to reverse course until receiving additional instructions on one of those frequencies.”
What Happens Next?
NORAD and the FAA will likely review the weekend’s incidents to assess whether additional measures are needed to prevent future violations.
Update 7/6/25, 4:53 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
