NORAD
| 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, 4 months)[1] |
| Countries | Canada United States |
| Type | Binational 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(s) | We Have the Watch |
| Emblem Colors | Blue Turquoise Yellow |
| Website | norad.mil |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Gen Gregory M. Guillot, USAF[3] |
| Deputy Commander | LGen Iain S. Huddleston, RCAF |
| Vice Commander, U.S. Element | LTG Thomas Carden, USA |
| Command Senior Enlisted Leader | CMSgt 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.
- ^ "NORAD Agreement". North American Aerospace Defense Command.
- ^ "North American Aerospace Defense Command".
- ^ "Leadership". www.norad.mil.
- ^ "NORAD – Fact Sheet". Archived from the original on 1 November 2013.