NORAD

North American Aerospace Defense Command
Commandement de la défense aérospatiale de l'Amérique du Nord
Crest of North American Aerospace Defense Command
Founded12 May 1958
(67 years, 4 months)[1]
Countries Canada
United States
TypeBinational command
RoleConducting aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defense of North America.[2]
HeadquartersPeterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Motto(s)We Have the Watch
Emblem ColorsBlue
Turquoise
Yellow
Websitenorad.mil
Commanders
CommanderGen Gregory M. Guillot, USAF[3]
Deputy CommanderLGen Iain S. Huddleston, RCAF
Vice Commander, U.S. ElementLTG Thomas Carden, USA
Command Senior Enlisted LeaderCMSgt John G. Storms, USAF

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD /ˈnɔːræd/; French: Commandement de la défense aérospatiale de l'Amérique du Nord, CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Canada and the continental United States.[4]

NORAD collects information on air and space objects, developing trajectories and identifying their origin. Information about potentially hostile targets, originally strategic bombers but today also including a variety of ballistic and cruise missiles, is disseminated to various military forces and leadership. NORAD's defensive area covers most of North America, and is broken into three areas of responsibility, Alaska, Canada and the continental US.

Headquarters for NORAD and the NORAD/United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) center are located at Peterson Space Force Base in El Paso County, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The nearby Cheyenne Mountain Complex has the Alternate Command Center. The NORAD commander and deputy commander are, respectively, a United States four-star general or equivalent and a Canadian lieutenant-general or equivalent.

  1. ^ "NORAD Agreement". North American Aerospace Defense Command.
  2. ^ "North American Aerospace Defense Command".
  3. ^ "Leadership". www.norad.mil.
  4. ^ "NORAD – Fact Sheet". Archived from the original on 1 November 2013.
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