NORAD turns big Four-O
Released: May 13, 1998
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- The North American Aerospace Defense Command, better known by its acronym of NORAD, turned 40 May 12.
Forty years ago, NORAD formerly came into being as a U.S./Canadian military command assigned with the key role of providing air defense for North America. Although turning 40 is a birthday some are reluctant to celebrate, for NORAD it is an opportunity to pause for reflection on a remarkable history and confidently prepare for an equally challenging future.
"The governments of Canada and the U.S. saw a common threat and developed a common defense. They knew mutual cooperation through an organization like NORAD would protect each nation better than either nation could do alone, " said Gen. Howell M. Estes III, commander-in-chief of NORAD. "NORAD's success and longevity have come as a result of its ability to evolve and meet ever-changing threats. Our citizens have been well served by NORAD during the past 40 years, they should expect nothing less in the future."
The roots of the NORAD agreement can be traced to the 1941 Ogdensburg Declaration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King which called for close military cooperation between Canada and the United States.
Entrusted with the air defense of North America during the height of the Cold War, NORAD evolved and adapted over the years to meet new security challenges. In the 1950s, the U.S. and Canada carried out the Herculean feat of building an extensive radar network across Canada and Alaska (the Pine Tree Line, Mid-Canada Line and the Distant Early Warning -- or DEW -- Line) designed to detect intruders entering North American airspace.
Hundreds of thousands of military personnel manned these sites as well as making sure U.S. and Canadian Air Force fighter/interceptors, Army missile units, Navy picket ships, and other units and individuals from all services from both countries remained on alert to deter and defend against any potential Soviet attack.
Actual NORAD military operations commenced Sept. 12, 1957, barely three weeks prior to the successful Oct. 4 launch of Sputnik 1, which not only heralded the space age, it also ushered in the spectre of an intercontinental ballistic missile threat to North America. In response, NORAD acquired the ability to see objects in space and to provide warning of a missile attack.
With its missions so important and the Cold War threat so great, the NORAD Operations Center was moved into a newly constructed complex deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1966.
Since the early 1970s, NORAD has used ground-based and space-based sensors to detect missile launches around the world. In a launch scenario, NORAD has four minutes to detect and confirm a missile launch. And, if North America has been targeted, provide warning to national leaders in Washington and Ottawa. The same missile detection technology was used to warn allied forces of Iraqi Scud launches during the Gulf War.
In 1981, the name of NORAD was changed from North American Air Defense Command to North American Aerospace Defense Command to reflect the air and space nature of its missions. As space capabilities have increased, NORAD has continued to partner with U.S. Space Command and its components to employ critical space-based systems in support of its homeland defense missions.
NORAD's missions have continued to evolve. In 1989, NORAD began assisting law enforcement agencies in the detection, tracking and interception of airborne drug smugglers attempting to enter North American airspace.
"The rationale for military partnership and cooperation between Canada and the United States, who share the world's longest undefended border, remains as valid today as it was during the Cold War," said Estes.
The NORAD agreement has been renewed eight times since 1958. The last agreement was signed in 1996 for five years. (Courtesy of Air Force Space Command News Service)
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