MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Super Bowl LIV is just days away and with so many people flocking to South Florida for the festivities, there is a heightened level of security throughout the region.
During the week leading up to the big game, local, state and federal agencies, along with the military, are working together to keep Florida skies safe.
"You're not going to see us hovering over the stadium," said Customs and Border Protection supervisor Todd Gayle. "We're going to stay a safe distance so that we're out of sight and out of mind, yet able to do our jobs."
F-15 fighter jets will be in the air constantly, with KC 135 tankers working to keep the F-15's fueled up and in the air.
Among other things, they're up there to enforce the no-fly zones. The idea is, the less time any F-15's have to spend on the ground refueling, the more time they can be patrolling the skies.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Briana Lindquist gave Local 10 News' Ian Margol an up-close and personal look at how the in-air refueling is done.
"You’re lying on your stomach and you're looking directly out a window at them," she explained. "We’ve got lights that run along the belly of the airplane, so I will guide them in using those, and once they’re in position, I’m flying the boom basically with my right hand and my left hand will extend."
Staff Sgt. Lindquist make the highly technical operation look easy, which it absolutely is not.
Fans and locals will likely never see these fighter jets in the air.
Most of the time, if they have to intercept anyone, it’s just a pilot who doesn’t realize they’re in a no-fly zone.