| North American Aerospace Defense Command Commandement de la défense aérospatiale de l'Amérique du Nord | |
|---|---|
 Crest of North American Aerospace Defense Command | |
| Founded | 12 May 1958 (67 years, 6 months)[1] |
| Countries |  Canada United States |
| Type | Bi-national command |
| Role | Conducting aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defense of North America.[2] |
| Headquarters | Peterson Space Force Base,Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Motto | We Have the Watch |
| Emblem Colors | Blue Turquoise Yellow |
| Website | norad.mil |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | GenGregory M. Guillot,USAF[3] |
| Deputy Commander | LGenIain S. Huddleston,RCAF |
| Vice Commander, U.S. Element | LTGThomas Carden,USA |
| Command Senior Enlisted Leader | CMSgt John G. Storms,USAF |
Established in 1958,North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD/ˈnɔːræd/NΟR-ad;French:Commandement de la défense aérospatiale de l'Amérique du Nord,CDAAN), formerlyNorth American Air Defense Command, andUnited States Army Air Defence Command, is the largest established combined bi-national military command in the world.[4][5] The North American Aerospace Defense Command defends bothCanada and theUnited States, and protects and monitorsNorth America's skies and atmosphere.
After theCold War, and the collapse and dissolution of theSoviet Union in1991, NORAD adapted, and in the early 2000s, followingNATO'sarticle five invocation for the first time and only time after theSeptember 11 attacks,[6] Canada partnered with the NORAD as astrategic partner under a permanentbilateral and bi-national mutual defence agreement to prevent and detect attacks byforeign adversaries.
NORAD collects information about theatmosphere of the earth,space objects, andNorth America'scoastal waters developingtrajectories and identifying their origin. Information about potentiallyhostile targets, originallystrategic bombers, but now in 2025 a variety ofballistic andcruise missiles, is disseminated to variousarmed forces and leadership. NORAD's defensive area covers most of Northern America, and is broken into three areas of responsibility, theAlaskan region, theCanadian region, and theAmerican Continental region.
NORAD'smain headquarters are inColorado, United States atPeterson Space Force Base (formerly Peterson Air Force Base), with other administrative offices located inNew Mexico, United States andArizona, United States. The combined forces of NORAD include 1,000soldiers,personnel andmilitary dependents. TheCheyenne Mountain Complex located inside ofCheyenne Mountain, inEl Paso County and nearColorado Springs, Colorado is used during anuclear orair to ground attack.[7]
NORAD has administratively divided the North American landmass intoThe North American Aerospace Defence Command, Alaskan Region (ANR),Canadian Region (CANR), and theContinental United States (CONR–AFNORTH).
The structure includes:
The North American Aerospace Command maintains a headquarters located atPeterson Space Force Base nearColorado Springs, Colorado. The NORAD andUSNORTHCOM Command Center at Peterson serves as both a central collection and coordination facility for a worldwide system of sensors designed to provide the commander and the leadership of Canada and the U.S. with an accurate picture of any active aerospace or maritime threat.[8]
Command structure by order of authority:[9][10]
TheAlaskan NORAD Region (ANR) maintains continuous capability to detect, validate and warn off any atmospheric threat in its area of operations from its Regional Operations Control Center (ROCC) atJoint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.
ANR maintains the readiness to conduct a continuum of aerospace control missions, which include daily air sovereignty in peacetime, contingency and deterrence in time of tension, and active air defense against manned and unmanned air-breathing atmospheric vehicles in times of crisis.
ANR is supported by both active duty and reserve units. Active duty forces are provided by 11 AF and theCanadian Armed Forces (CAF), and reserve forces provided by theAlaska Air National Guard. Both 11 AF and the CAF provide active duty personnel to the ROCC to maintain continuous surveillance of Alaskan airspace.
Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters is atCFB Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was established on 22 April 1983.[11] It is responsible for providing surveillance and control of Canadian airspace. TheRoyal Canadian Air Force provides alert assets to NORAD. CANR is divided into two sectors, the Canada East Sector and Canada West Sector. Both Sector Operations Control Centers (SOCCs) are co-located atCFB North Bay, Ontario. The routine operation of the SOCCs includes reporting track data, sensor status and aircraft alert status to NORAD headquarters. In 1996, CANR was renamed1 Canadian Air Division and moved toCFB Winnipeg.
Canadian air defense forces assigned to NORAD include409 Tactical Fighter Squadron atCFB Cold Lake, Alberta and425 Tactical Fighter Squadron atCFB Bagotville, Quebec. All squadrons fly theMcDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft.[12]
To monitor for drug trafficking, the Canadian NORAD Region monitors all air traffic approaching the coast of Canada, in cooperation with theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police and the United States drug law enforcement agencies.[13] Any aircraft that has not filed a flight plan may be directed to land and be inspected by RCMP andCanada Border Services Agency.
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TheContinental NORAD Region (CONR) is the component of NORAD that provides airspace surveillance and control and directs air sovereignty activities for theContiguous United States (CONUS). Since the terrorist attacks ofSeptember 11, 2001, CONR has been the lead agency forOperation Noble Eagle, an ongoing mission to protect the continental United States from airborne attacks.[14]
CONR is the NORAD designation of the United States Air ForceFirst Air Force/AFNORTH. Its headquarters is located atTyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The First Air Force (1 AF) became responsible for the USAF air defense mission in September 1990. AFNORTH is the United States Air Force component ofUnited States Northern Command (NORTHCOM).
1 AF/CONR-AFNORTH comprisesAir National Guard Fighter Wings assigned an air defense mission to 1 AF/CONR-AFNORTH on federal orders, made up primarily of citizen Airmen. The primary weapons systems are theMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle andGeneral Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.
It plans, conducts, controls, coordinates and ensures air sovereignty and provides for the unilateral defense of the United States. A combined First Air Force command post is at Tyndall Air Force Base. The US East ROCC (Eastern Air Defense Sector), Sector Operations Control Center (SOCC) is atRome, New York. The US West ROCC (Western Air Defense Sector) control center is atMcChord Field, Washington. Both maintain continuous surveillance of CONUS airspace.
In its role as the CONUS NORAD Region, 1 AF/CONR-AFNORTH also performs counter-drug surveillance operations.
The North American Air Defense Command was recommended by the Joint Canadian–U.S. Military Group in late 1956, approved by the U.S.Joint Chiefs of Staff in February 1957, and announced in August 1957.[15] NORAD's command headquarters was established on 12 September 1957 atEnt Air Force Base's 1954 blockhouse.[16] In 1958, Canada and the United States agreed that the NORAD commander would always be a United States officer, with a Canadian vice commander. Canada "agreed the command's primary purpose would be ... early warning and defense for theStrategic Air Command's (SAC)'s retaliatory forces".[17]: 252
In late 1958, Canada and the United States started theContinental Air Defense Integration North (CADIN) for theSemi-Automatic Ground Environment air defense network.[17]: 253 The initial CADIN cost-sharing agreement between the two countries was signed in January 1959. Two December 1958 plans submitted by NORAD had "average yearly expenditure of around five and one half billions", including "cost of the accelerated Nike Zeus program" and threeBallistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) sites.[18]
Canada's NORAD bunker atCFB North Bay with a SAGEAN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central computer was constructed from 1959 to 1963. Each of the USAF's eight smallerAN/FSQ-8 Combat Control Central systems provided NORAD with data and could command the entire United States air defense. The RCAF's 1950 "ground observer system, theLong Range Air Raid Warning System", was discontinued.[19] In January 1959, the United StatesGround Observer Corps was deactivated.[17]: 222
The Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker's planned mission was expanded in August 1960 to "a hardened center from which CINCNORAD would supervise and direct operationsagainst space attack as well as air attack".[20] In October 1960, the Secretary of Defense assigned, "operational command of all space surveillance toContinental Air Defense Command (CONAD) and operational control to North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)".[21]
In December 1960, theJoint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) placed the Ent Air Force BaseSpace Detection and Tracking System (496L System withPhilco 2000 Model 212 computer)[22] "under the operational control of CINCNORAD ",[23] during the Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker excavation, and the joint SAC-NORAD exercise "Sky Shield II". In September 1962—"Sky Shield III" were conducted for mock penetration of NORAD sectors.[24]
In 1963, NORAD command center operations moved from Ent Air Force Base to the partially underground "Combined Operations Center" forAerospace Defense Command and NORAD at theChidlaw Building.[25] PresidentJohn F. Kennedy visited "NORAD headquarters" after the 5 June 1963United States Air Force Academy graduation. On 30 October 1964, "NORAD began manning" the Combat Operations Center in theCheyenne Mountain Complex.[23]
In 1965, about 250,000 United States and Canadian personnel were involved in the operation of NORAD,[failed verification][26] On 1 January 1966,Air Force Systems Command turned the COC over to NORAD.[27] The NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex was accepted on 8 February 1966.[23]: 319
United States Department of Defense (DoD), also referred to as the Department of War (DoW), realignments for the NORAD command organization began on 15 November 1968 (e.g.,Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM)).[28] By 1972, there were eight NORAD "regional areas ... for all air defense".[29] The NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex Improvements Program (427M System)[27] became operational in 1979.[30]
On at least three occasions, NORAD systems failed, such as on 9 November 1979, when a technician in NORAD loaded a test tape, but failed to switch the system status to "test", causing a stream of constant false warnings to spread to two "continuity of government" bunkers as well as command posts worldwide.[31] On 3 June 1980, and again on 6 June 1980, acomputer communications device failure caused warning messages to sporadically flash in U.S. Air Force command posts around the world that anuclear attack was taking place.[32]
During these incidents,Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) properly had their planes loaded with nuclear bombs in the air.Strategic Air Command (SAC) did not and received criticism,[by whom?] because they did not follow procedure, even though the SAC command knew these were almost certainlyfalse alarms, as did PACAF.[citation needed] Both command posts had recently begun receiving and processing direct reports from the various radar, satellite, and other missile attack detection systems, and those direct reports simply did not match the erroneous data received from NORAD.[citation needed]
Following the 1979 Joint US-Canada Air Defense Study, the command structure for aerospace defense was changed, e.g., "SAC assumed control ofballistic missile warning and space surveillance facilities" on 1 December 1979 from ADCOM.[33]: 48 The Aerospace Defense Command major command ended 31 March 1980. Its organizations in Cheyenne Mountain became the "ADCOM"specified command under the same commander as NORAD,[25] e.g., HQ NORAD/ADCOM J31 manned the Space Surveillance Center.
In 1982, a NORAD Off-site Test Facility[34] called the Test and Development Facility (TDF) was located at Peterson AFB.[35] TheDEW Line was to be replaced with theNorth Warning System (NWS), theOver-the-Horizon Backscatter (OTH-B) radar was to be deployed, more advanced fighters were deployed, and E-3 SentryAWACS aircraft were planned for greater use. These recommendations were accepted by the governments in 1985. The United States Space Command was formed in September 1985 as an adjunct, but not a component of NORAD.
NORAD was renamedNorth American Aerospace Defense Command in March 1981.
In 1989, NORAD operations expanded to cover counter-drug operations, for example, tracking of small aircraft entering and operating within the United States and Canada.[36] DEW line sites were replaced between 1986 and 1995 by the North Warning System. The Cheyenne Mountain site was upgraded, but none of the proposedOTH-B radars are currently in operation.
After theSeptember 11 attacks, the NORAD Air Warning Center's mission included the interior airspace of North America.[37]
The Cheyenne Mountain Realignment[38] was announced in July 2006, to consolidate NORAD's day-to-day operations atPeterson Air Force Base.[39] Cheyenne Mountain remains on "warm standby", staffed with support personnel.
| Former NORAD Regions/Sectors | |||||||||||||
| 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970–1983 | 1984 | 1985–1986 | 1987 | 1988–1990 | 1991–1992 | 1993–1995 | 1996–2005 | 2006–2009 | |
| 20th Air Division | 1966–1967 | 1969–1983 | |||||||||||
| 21st Air Division | 1966–1967 | 1969–1983 | |||||||||||
| 22nd Air Division | 1966–1987 | ||||||||||||
| 23rd Air Division | 1969–1987 | ||||||||||||
| 24th Air Division | 1969–1990 | ||||||||||||
| 25th Air Division | 1966–1990 | ||||||||||||
| 26th Air Division | 1966–1990 | ||||||||||||
| 27th Air Division | 1966–1969 | ||||||||||||
| 28th Air Division | 1966–1969 | 1985–1992 | |||||||||||
| 29th Air Division | 1966–1969 | ||||||||||||
| 30th Air Division | 1966–1968 | ||||||||||||
| 31st Air Division | 1966–1969 | ||||||||||||
| 32nd Air Division | 1966–1969 | ||||||||||||
| 34th Air Division | 1966–1969 | ||||||||||||
| 35th Air Division | 1966–1969 | ||||||||||||
| 36th Air Division | 1966–1969 | ||||||||||||
| Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) | 1987–1995 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) | 1987–2009 | ||||||||||||
| Southeast Air Defense Sector (SEADS) | 1987–2005 | ||||||||||||
| Southwest Air Defense Sector (SWADS) | 1987–1995 | ||||||||||||
The NORAD command center located underCheyenne Mountain, Colorado is a setting of the 1983 filmWarGames and the television seriesJeremiah andStargate SG-1. In the 2014 filmInterstellar, NORAD dissolves and its headquarters is converted forNASA.[44] The 1970 movie, Colossus:The Forbin Project is largely based on NORAD.
In theSouth Park episode "Back to the Cold War",Mr. Mackey hacks into NORAD using late-1980s computer hardware.[45]
As a publicity move on 24 December 1955, NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), informed the press that CONAD was trackingSanta Claus'ssleigh, adding that "CONAD,Army,Navy andMarine Air Forces will continue to track and guard Santa and his sleigh on his trip to and from the U.S. against possible attack from those who do not believe in Christmas". A Christmas Eve tradition was born,[46] known as the "NORAD Tracks Santa" program. Every year onChristmas Eve, "NORAD Tracks Santa" purports to track Santa Claus as he leaves theNorth Pole and delivers presents to children around the world. Today, NORAD relies on volunteers to make the program possible.[47]
The missile and space surveillance and warning system currently [1972] consists of five systems and a space computational center located in the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain complex. The five systems are: the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System; the Defense Support Program (DSP) formerly called Project 647; the Forward Scatter over the Horizon Radar (440L AN/FRT-80 transmitter, AN/FSQ-76 receiver) system; the Sea-Launched Ballistic Missile Warning System; and the Space Detection and Tracking System. ... In July 1961, the National Space Surveillance and Control Center (NSSCC) was discontinued as the new SPADATS Center became operational at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado. Officially, this marked the beginning of aerospace operations by CINCNORAD.
McNamara…reasoned that Soviet missiles could eliminate air defense systems in a first strike ... the policy that emerged [sic] embraced the most extreme option: massive retaliation, popularly referred to ... asmutual assured destruction (MAD). ... 1966…NORAD ... Combat Operations Center ... integrated several distinct systems into a single workable unit to provide the NORAD Commander with the necessary information and control to perform his mission. ... the Space Defense Center combiningthe Air Force's Space Track and theNavy's Spasur.
On November 15, 1968, as part of the internal reorganization of the Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM), the 47th Artillery Brigade was transferred east. the Army Air Defense command at Fort MacArthur became the 19th Artillery Group (Air Defense). This change was made to align ARADCOM units in accordance with a reorganization of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
Currently, the North American Continent is divided into eight regional areas (fig 2) of air defense responsibility· Each region commander is responsible to CINCNORAD for all air defense activity within his designated area. … The average number of unknowns in the system has steadily declined over the years until now the number is approximately 40 per month.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)CMU also upgrades and provides new capability to survivable communication and warning elements at the National Military Command Center (NMCC), U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), and other forward user locations. CMU additionally provides at Offutt, AFB an austere backup to Cheyenne Mountain ballistic missile warning. … Granite Sentry provides a Message Processing Subsystem and a Video Distribution Subsystem, and it upgrades the NORAD Computer System display capability and four major centers: (1) the Air Defense Operations Center, (2) the NORAD Command Center, (3) the Battle Staff Support Center, and (4) the Weather Support Unit. Granite Sentry also processes and displays nuclear detection data provided from the Integrated Correlation and Display System.
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