The North American Aerospace Defense Command (commonly abbreviated to NORAD NΟR-ad; French: Commandement de la défense aérospatiale de l'Amérique du Nord; CDAAN) is a bi-national mutual defense organization in Canada and the United States. Established 12 September 1957 as the North American Air Defense Command, NORAD is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, which also serves as the headquarters of United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM).
During World War II, Canada contacted the United States for protection from German aggression. Later, during the beginning of the Cold War, the U.S. and Canada formed a permanent military alliance.
NORAD has three regions: the Alaskan region, the Canadian region, and the American Continental region. The administrative offices are located in New Mexico and Arizona. NORAD has an alternate command center called Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado. NORAD has a total of 1,000 soldiers, personnel and military dependents.
NORAD has administratively divided the North American landmass into The North American Aerospace Defence Command, Alaskan Region (ANR), Canadian Region (CANR), and the continental United States (CONR–AFNORTH).
The 1st Canadian Air Division (French: 1re Division aérienne du Canada), in the Canadian Region.
The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF), in the Alaskan Region.
The First Air Force (1 AF), in the American Continental Region.
The North American Aerospace Command maintains a headquarters located at Peterson Space Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The NORAD and USNORTHCOM 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.
Command structure by order of authority:
Commander Senior Enlisted Leader
The Alaskan 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) at Joint 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 crewed and uncrewed 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 the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and reserve forces provided by the Alaska 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 at CFB Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was established on 22 April 1983 at CFB North Bay in Ontario. It is responsible for providing surveillance and control of Canadian airspace. The Royal Canadian Air Force provides alert assets to NORAD. In 1996, CANR was renamed 1 Canadian Air Division and moved to CFB Winnipeg.
Canadian air defense forces assigned to NORAD include 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta and 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron at CFB Bagotville, Quebec. All squadrons fly the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft.
To monitor for drug trafficking, the Canadian NORAD Region monitors all air traffic approaching the coast of Canada, in cooperation with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the United States drug law enforcement agencies. Any aircraft that has not filed a flight plan may be directed to land and be inspected by RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency.
In June 2026, Canada signed agreements with Australia to acquire long-range over-the-horizon radar technology for its Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar (A-OTHR) program, aimed at improving threat detection in the Arctic and supporting NORAD modernization. The agreements, signed in Canberra by Canadian and Australian officials, formalized the partnership and moved the project from planning into the delivery phase.
The Continental NORAD Region (CONR) is the component of NORAD that provides airspace surveillance and control and directs air sovereignty activities for the Contiguous United States (CONUS). Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, CONR has been the lead agency for Operation Noble Eagle, an ongoing mission to protect the continental United States from airborne attacks.