Just a few days ago, a Russian diplomat seemed to be defending the fact that two bombers from his nation had come precariously close to Canadian air space but did not cross the border. Two Canadian fighter jets shadowed the bombers, writes UPI, until they left a "buffer zone," prompting calls from members of Canada's Conservative government for upgrades to their nation's fighter jets. Now, the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command says it will conduct a joint training exercise with the Russian Air Force, reports the Colorado Springs Gazette. NORAD, based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, calls the exercise a way to begin cooperative efforts in combating terrorism. The effort will take place from August 8 to 11 and will involve personnel from all three nations operating in U.S. and Russian command centers. The task will entail fighter jets shadowing mock commercial flights hijacked by terrorists. The United States and Russia have collaborated in exercises before in recent years, but this is reportedly the first involving a hijack scenario, according to The Associated Press.