NATO and Russia are conducting an unprecedented joint anti-terrorism exercise.

The first ever cooperative exercise began Tuesday morning with a Polish plane simulating a hijacked civilian aircraft. Russian jets have never taken part in such a NATO exercise.

The aerial exercise will test the NATO-Russia Council Cooperative Airspace Initiative (CAI) aimed at preventing the type of attack on the U.S. in 2001 by sharing information in NATO and Russian airspace. The initiative hopes to improve air safety for international flights.

In situations where the aircraft begin to fly erratically, the shared information ensures a rapid, joint response to terrorist threats.

The system has two coordination sites, one in Warsaw and another in Moscow.