79-671: The Continental U.S. NORAD Region (CONR) is a component of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) that provides airspace surveillance and control and directs air sovereignty activities for the continental United States (CONUS). CONR is one of three NORAD regions. The two other Regions are the Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) and the Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR). Since September 11, 2001, CONR has been
158-474: A Lockheed Martin contract "to upgrade all of the mission systems within Cheyenne Mountain, which included the space surveillance systems" for delivery in 2006. The portion of CCIC2S modernizing "attack warning systems within Cheyenne Mountain [was to] cost more than $ 700 million from fiscal years 2000 to 2006", and the delayed CCIC2S upgrades for space surveillance were superseded by systems for
237-483: A nuclear attack was taking place. 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, because they did not follow procedure, even though the SAC command knew these were almost certainly false alarms , as did PACAF. Both command posts had recently begun receiving and processing direct reports from
316-651: A skeleton crew and no longer operates on a 24/7 basis. The complex is on "warm standby", meaning it is only staffed when required. On the fiftieth anniversary of the NORAD agreement—May 12, 2008—the Command Center located within Cheyenne Mountain Complex was officially re-designated as the NORAD and USNORTHCOM Alternate Command Center. The Cheyenne Mountain Division of NORAD and USNORTHCOM
395-479: A $ 700 million contract with Raytheon to move systems into the complex to shield it from electromagnetic pulse attack, with additional work to be done at Vandenberg and Offutt . According to Gortney, "because of the very nature of the way that Cheyenne Mountain's built, it's EMP-hardened. And so, there's a lot of movement to put capability into Cheyenne Mountain and to be able to communicate in there". Electronic Systems Division Detachment 10 at Ent AFB became
474-894: A Message Processing Subsystem and a Video Distribution Subsystem, and [to upgrade] 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." It was also to process and display " nuclear detection data provided from the Integrated Correlation and Display System." For $ 230 million
553-636: A SAGE AN/FSQ-7 Combat Direction Central computer was constructed from 1959 to 1963. Each of the USAF's eight smaller AN/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, the Long Range Air Raid Warning System ", was discontinued. In January 1959, the United States Ground Observer Corps
632-499: A bad computer chip was updated, and staff and commander processes were improved to better respond to warnings. The Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade (CMU) of November 1988, designed to consolidate five improvement programs, was not installed because it was not compatible with other systems at Cheyenne Mountain and it did not meet the defined specifications according to deficiencies identified during testing. The five improvement programs were
711-523: A computer chip "went haywire" and issued false missile warnings, which raised the possibility that a nuclear war could be started accidentally, based upon incorrect data. Staff analyzed the data and found that the warnings were erroneous, and the systems were updated to identify false alarms. Gen. James V. Hartinger of the Air Force stated that "his primary responsibility is to provide Washington with what he calls 'timely, unambiguous, reliable warning' that
790-414: A limited nuclear attack, [and] a general nuclear attack." The least likely events are the most hazardous. There is more water produced by mountain springs than the base requires, and a 1,500,000-gallon (5,700,000-litre) reservoir ensures that even in event of fire, there is enough water to meet the facility's needs. A reservoir of 4,500,000 gallons (17,000,000 litres) of water is used as a heat sink. There
869-466: A raid on North America has begun." He explained that there are about 6,700 messages generated on average each hour in 1979 and 1980 and all had been processed without error. An off-site testing facility was established in Colorado Springs by NORAD in late 1979 or early 1980 so that system changes could be tested off-line before they were moved into production. Following another failure in 1980,
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#1732781044868948-600: A system integrator and modernized the communications to a major data processing system, was completed in October 1972. The Ballistic Missile Defense Center (BMDC) BW 1.2 release was installed in February 1974 in the Combat Operations Center, under the command of CONAD. The Safeguard command and control system, operated by the commander, communicated warnings, observation data, and attack assessment to
1027-411: 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. On 3 June 1980, and again on 6 June 1980, a computer communications device failure caused warning messages to sporadically flash in U.S. Air Force command posts around the world that
1106-708: 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 aerospace or maritime threat. NORAD has administratively divided the North American landmass into three regions: Both the CONR and CANR regions are divided into eastern and western sectors. 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
1185-494: Is a "massive" reservoir for diesel fuel and a "huge" battery bank with redundant power generators. The North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) was established and activated at the Ent Air Force Base on September 12, 1957. The Command is a binational organization of Canadian ( 1 Canadian Air Division ) and United States air defense command units, in accordance with NORAD Agreements first made on May 12, 1958. In
1264-413: Is a 99.999% degree of reliability of its electricity, water, air conditioning, power, and other support systems. The threats, in descending order of likelihood, that the complex may face are "medical emergencies, natural disasters, civil disorder, a conventional attack, an electromagnetic pulse attack, a cyber or information attack, chemical or biological or radiological attack, an improvised nuclear attack,
1343-584: Is a setting of the 1983 film WarGames and the television series Jeremiah and Stargate SG-1 . In the 2014 film Interstellar , NORAD dissolves and its headquarters is converted for NASA . In season 25 episode 4 of the TV series South Park , NORAD is hacked into by Mr Mackey using late 1980s computer hardware. As a publicity move on 24 December 1955, NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), informed
1422-444: Is also used by the nearby U.S. Civil Defense Warning Center. The complex was built under 2,000 feet (610 metres) of granite on five acres (2 hectares). Fifteen three-story buildings are protected from movement, e.g., earthquake or explosion, by a system of giant springs that the buildings sit on and flexible pipe connectors to limit the operational effect of movement. A total of more than 1,000 springs are designed to prevent any of
1501-624: Is at McChord 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. NORAD's command headquarters
1580-702: Is divided into two sectors, the Canada East Sector and Canada West Sector. Both Sector Operations Control Centers (SOCCs) are co-located at CFB 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 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
1659-597: Is located at Tyndall 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 of United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM). 1 AF/CONR-AFNORTH comprises Air 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
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#17327810448681738-608: Is maintained by the 21st Mission Support Group which provides support and maintenance for the 'NORAD/USNORTHCOM's training, exercise and alternate command center functions, U.S. Strategic Command's Missile Warning Center, Detachment 2 of the 17th Test Squadron, Air Force Technical Applications Center's research laboratory, the Defense Intelligence Agency's Western Continental United States Regional Service Center'. Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station
1817-590: Is owned and operated by Air Force Space Command. NORAD and USNORTHCOM now use just under 30% of the floor space within the complex and comprise approximately 5% of the daily population at Cheyenne Mountain. The Cheyenne Mountain Complex serves as NORAD and USNORTHCOM's Alternate Command Center and as a training site for crew qualification. Day-to-day crew operations for NORAD and USNORTHCOM typically take place at Peterson Air Force Base. In early 2015, Admiral William E. Gortney , commander of NORAD and NORTHCOM, announced
1896-862: Is tasked to detect, deter, divert, and if necessary defeat airborne attacks within the NORAD area of operation and provide direct support, Deputy Area Air Defense Commander, to Continental NORAD Region (CONR) Area Air Defense Commander within the CONR area of operation, including in regard to the National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense System. The 263 AA&MDC also serves as a supporting command to U.S. Army North for all Army Air Defense Artillery missions as required. The 263rd AA&MDC serves as Theater Army Air and Missile Defense Coordinator to ARNORTH Joint Forces Land Component Commander for planning, coordination, integration, and execution to defeat or destroy Short and Medium Range Ballistic Missile threats to
1975-632: 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. CONR is the NORAD designation of the United States Air Force First Air Force /AFNORTH. Its headquarters
2054-1043: The AN/FPS-129 HAVE STARE (Globus II) radar in California had been upgraded to "relay data to Cheyenne Mountain", and by October 1995 the 1st Command and Control Squadron (1CACS) in the bunker was providing space collision avoidance data to the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center's space control center. In June 1993, the Cheyenne Mountain Complex Operations Center had the USSPACE and NORAD Command Center, NORAD Air Defense Operations Center (ADOC), NORAD/USSPACECOM Combined Intelligence Watch Center (CIWC), USSPACECOM Space Defense Operations Center (SPADOC), USSPACECOM Space Surveillance Center (SSC), AFSPACECOM Weather Operations Center, and
2133-591: 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. It is responsible for providing surveillance and control of Canadian airspace. The Royal Canadian Air Force provides alert assets to NORAD. CANR
2212-705: The Canadian Forces , the deputy commander was an RCAF air marshal . The commander is responsible to the Government of Canada (the Crown - in-Council ), through the chief of the Defence Staff , and to the Government of the United States , via the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff . The commander and deputy are each subject to their respective country's laws, policies, and directives. Per
2291-627: The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) placed the Ent Air Force Base Space Detection and Tracking System (496L System with Philco 2000 Model 212 computer) "under the operational control of CINCNORAD ", 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. In 1963, NORAD command center operations moved from Ent Air Force Base to
2370-637: The Joint Space Operations Center 's Space C2 program and Integrated Space Situational Awareness program. By 2003, consoles for the Ground-Based Mid-Course Defense (GMD) had been contracted for Cheyenne Mountain, and the planned 18 month Cheyenne Mountain Realignment to move Command Center operations to Peterson AFB was complete by May 13, 2008. On August 3, 2011, a ribbon cutting was held for
2449-696: 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 . The Continental NORAD Region (CONR)
Continental NORAD Region - Misplaced Pages Continue
2528-550: The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and General 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 at Rome, New York . The US West ROCC ( Western Air Defense Sector ) control center
2607-718: The National Civil Defense Warning Center was in the bunker. System Development Corporation updated Air Defense Command satellite information processing systems for $ 15,850,542 on January 19, 1973. The improvements were primarily to the Space Computational Center's displays and application software, which was updated to provide real-time positioning of orbiting space systems for the NORAD Combat Operation Center. The first phase, which established
2686-766: 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 . 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
2765-674: The North Pole and delivers presents to children around the world. Today, NORAD relies on volunteers to make the program possible. Cheyenne Mountain Complex The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a United States Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado , next to the city of Colorado Springs , at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station , which hosts
2844-791: The " Joint Task Force – Cheyenne Mountain Operations organization was brought online to take responsibility for the installation", Brig. Gen. Donald Peterson was the commander of the JTF, which was renamed the " U.S. Space Command Cheyenne Mountain operations center" by March 1995. On July 28, 2006, the Cheyenne Mountain Realignment redesignated the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate to the Cheyenne Mountain Division. Circa 2004
2923-717: The "ADCOM" specified command under the same commander as NORAD, e.g., HQ NORAD/ADCOM J31 manned the Space Surveillance Center. In 1982, a NORAD Off-site Test Facility was located at Peterson AFB. The DEW Line was to be replaced with the North Warning System (NWS), the Over-the-Horizon Backscatter (OTH-B) radar was to be deployed, more advanced fighters were deployed, and E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft were planned for greater use. These recommendations were accepted by
3002-420: The 15 buildings from shifting more than one inch. The complex is the only underground Department of Defense facility certified to be able to sustain a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (EMP). There are a large quantity of cots for most of the personnel, including suites for high-ranking officers within the bunker. Amenities include a medical facility, store, cafeteria, and fitness centers inside and outside
3081-825: The 1970s. In 1979, the Cheyenne Mountain Complex Improvements Program 427M system became fully operational. It was a consolidated Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade program for command center, space, ballistic missile, and space functions, developed using new software technology and designed for computers with large processing capacity. There were three major segments of the 427M system: the Communication System Segment (CSS), NORAD Computer System (NCS), and Space Computational Center (SCC). The 425L Command and Control System, Display Information Processor, Command Center Processing System, and other hardware were replaced by
3160-545: The AFSPACECOM Systems Center within its facility. Plans to house the USSPACECOM and NORAD command centers in the same location began by July 1994. A $ 450 million upgrade was made to the missile warning center beginning in February 1995. The effort was part of a $ 1.7 billion renovation program for Cheyenne Mountain. 'Granite Sentry' was an improvement program for the complex. It aimed "to provide
3239-576: 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 is headed by its commander , who is a four-star general or admiral in the United States Armed Forces . The deputy commander is a Royal Canadian Air Force lieutenant general . Prior to the 1968 unification of
Continental NORAD Region - Misplaced Pages Continue
3318-649: The Battle Staff Support Center. The Space Defense Operations Center (SPADOC), established on October 1, 1979, consolidated United States Air Force satellite survivability, space surveillance, and US ASAT operations into one wartime space activities hub at the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Space surveillance and missile warning functions were performed by the Core Processing Segment (CPS) using Worldwide Military Command and Control System 's Honeywell H6080 computers at
3397-814: The CCPDS Replacement (CCPDS-R), CSS Replacement (CSS-R), Granite Sentry upgrade, SCIS, and SPADOC 4. SPADOC 4 was for upgrading the SCC with primary and backup 3090-200J mainframes ), and SPADOC 4 block A achieved initial operating capability (IOC) in April 1989. The CSS-R "first element" achieved IOC on April 12, 1991; and the 427M system was replaced c. 1992 . The CSSR, SCIS, Granite Sentry, CCPDS-R, and their interfaces were tested in 1997. Testing of Granite Sentry nuclear detonation (NUDET) data processing system found it to be inadequate. The Joint Surveillance System (JSS), developed under an agreement with
3476-672: The Canadian National Defence Act , the chief of the Defence Staff relays orders from the Crown-in-Council, collectively, or guidance from the minister of national defence , alone, to the officers of the Canadian Armed Forces . NORAD maintains a headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colorado . The NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center at Peterson SFB serves as a central collection and coordination facility for
3555-575: The Canadian government, became fully operational in seven Region Operations Control Centers (ROCCs) on December 23, 1983. The Joint Surveillance System was implemented to replace Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE). In 1986, Congress approved development of the Survivable Communications Integration System (SCIS) to communicate missile warning messages simultaneously over many forms of media, but it
3634-753: The Cheyenne Mountain Complex Management Office (CMCMO) in 1963, the year the Chidlaw Combined Operations Center began operations; and on February 15, 1980, ESD Detachment 2 was established at the "Cheyenne Mountain Complex" (Det 2 became the AFSC focal point during the Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade.) Aerospace Defense Command organizations in the bunker became a specified command when the major command ended in 1980; e.g.,
3713-500: The Combat Operations Center. It was also designed to release nuclear weapons. By 1978, five operating centers and a command post resided within the NORAD Combat Operations Center. The Space Computational Center catalogued and tracked space objects. The Intelligence Center analyzed intelligence data. Data was consolidated and displayed in the Command Post by the System Center. The Weather Support Unit monitored local and global weather patterns. The NORAD Commander's wartime staff reported to
3792-431: The J31 unit of HQ NORAD/ADCOM subsequently staffed the Space Surveillance Center in the same room as the Missile Warning Center (separated by partitions). The "HQ Cheyenne Mountain Support Group ... was activated at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex" in October 1981 to support the Aerospace Defense Center 's operation of the NORAD combat operations center". In 1983 the Foreign Technology Division had an operating location at
3871-405: The January 2010 – June 30, 2011, Missile Warning Center renovation funded by USSTRATCOM . Over the years, the installation came to house elements of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), U.S. Strategic Command , U.S. Air Force Space Command and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). Under what became known as the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (CMOC), several centers supported
3950-412: The NORAD Computer System (NCS). The new system was designed to centralize several databases, improve on-line display capabilities, and consolidate mission warning information processing and transmission. It was intended to have greater reliability and quicker early warning capability. The Command Center Processing System's original UNIVAC 1106 , re-purposed for Mission Essential Back-up Capability (MEBU),
4029-687: The NORAD air sovereignty mission for the continental United States. CONR plans, conducts, controls, coordinates, and ensures air sovereignty and provides for the air defense of the nation. McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters are CONR's primary weapons systems. CONR consists of 10 Air National Guard fighter wings and made up primarily of citizen airmen. The 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command , when required, assumes lead operational headquarters responsibilities in support Of Commander, US Element North American Aerospace Defense Command , for support and oversight of Homeland Defense ADA missions. In this role it
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#17327810448684108-437: The NORAD missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control and provided warning of ballistic missile or air attacks against North America. On July 28, 2006, the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate was re-designated as the Cheyenne Mountain Division , with the mission to assist in establishing an integrated NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center within the headquarters building at Peterson Air Force Base . The Unified Space Vault and
4187-548: The North Warning System. The Cheyenne Mountain site was upgraded, but none of the proposed OTH-B radars are currently in operation. After the September 11 attacks , the NORAD Air Warning Center's mission included the interior airspace of North America. The Cheyenne Mountain Realignment was announced in July 2006, to consolidate NORAD's day-to-day operations at Peterson Air Force Base . Cheyenne Mountain remains on "warm standby", staffed with support personnel. The NORAD command center located under Cheyenne Mountain , Colorado
4266-425: The SPADOC Computational Center (SCC) and NORAD Computer System (NCS). A third computer was operational backup for SCC or NCS. By 1981, the H6080 failed to meet the requirements for timely computations. SPADATS was deactivated about 1980, although some of its logic continued on in SPADOC systems. NORAD had a series of warning and assessment systems that were not fully automated in the Cheyenne Mountain complex into
4345-399: The Space Control Center were moved from Cheyenne Mountain to the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base about October 2007. In 2006, NORAD relocated to a basement in the Peterson No. 2 building at the nearby Peterson AFB . Northern Command and Space Command and Canadian military defense partners relocated at Peterson. The Cheyenne Mountain complex is maintained by
4424-614: The US Northern Command Combatant Commander's designated priorities. When required, Additionally, they serve as a supporting command to First Army and United States Army Forces Command for active duty Training Readiness Authority for Homeland Defense Army ADA missions. Execute functional coordination with the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command to include new technology insertion and testing for Homeland Defense Army ADA missions. North American Aerospace Defense Command Turquoise North American Aerospace Defense Command ( NORAD / ˈ n ɔːr æ d / ), known until March 1981 as
4503-438: The USSC have been based at Peterson Space Force Base and the complex, re-designated as an Air Force station, is used for crew training and as a back-up command center if required. The military complex has included, in the past, many units of NORAD, USSC, Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM), Air Force Systems Command , Air Weather Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The complex's communication center
4582-526: The United States started the Continental Air Defense Integration North (CADIN) for the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment air defense network. 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 three Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) sites. Canada's NORAD bunker at CFB North Bay with
4661-504: The activities of several tenant units. Also located in Colorado Springs is Peterson Space Force Base , where the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters are located. Formerly the center for the United States Space Command (USSC) and NORAD, the Complex monitored the airspace of Canada and the United States for missiles, space systems, and foreign aircraft through its worldwide early-warning system. Since 2008, NORAD and
4740-417: The bunker and in 1992, an airman of the "1010th Civil Engineering Squadron at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base" developed a 3-D AutoCAD model of the bunker "to zoom in on a specific room". By 1995 a "missile operations section" supported the missile warning center, and in 2001 the 1989 1CACS at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station was renamed the 1st Space Control Squadron . On June 24, 1994, when
4819-435: 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 renamed North 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. DEW line sites were replaced between 1986 and 1995 by
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#17327810448684898-599: The instantaneous (one-millionth of a second) evaluation of aerospace surveillance data. The Space Defense Center moved from Ent AFB to the complex in 1965. The NORAD Combat Operations Center was fully operational April 20, 1966 and The Space Defense Command's 1st Aerospace Control Squadron moved to Cheyenne Mountain that month. The following systems or commands became operational between May and October, 1966: The NORAD Attack Warning System, Combat Operations Command, and Delta I computer system, which recorded and monitored every detected space system. By January 4, 1967,
4977-493: The late 1950s, a plan was developed to construct a command and control center in a hardened facility as a Cold War defensive strategy against long-range Soviet bombers, ballistic missiles, and a nuclear attack. In 1957, the Strategic Air Command began construction in New England inside Bare Mountain for a hardened bunker to contain the command post for the 8th Air Force , which was located at nearby Westover Air Force Base , Chicopee, Massachusetts . This underground facility
5056-469: The lead agency for Operation Noble Eagle , an ongoing mission to protect the continental United States from further terrorist aggression from inside and outside U.S. borders. CONR is located at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida , and has responsibility over two air defense sectors: the Western Air Defense Sector at McChord Air Force Base , Washington state and the Eastern Air Defense Sector at Rome, New York . The CONR Air Operations Center perform
5135-418: The military complex are the parking lots, a fire station, and outdoor recreational facilities. The recreational amenities include Mountain Man Park, picnic areas, a racquetball facility, softball field, sand volleyball court, basketball court, a putting green, and horseshoe area. The complex has its own power plant, heating and cooling system, and water supply. The 21st Mission Support Group ensures there
5214-530: The mountain. The bunker is built to deflect a 30 megaton nuclear explosion as close as 1.2 miles (1.9 km). Within a mountain tunnel are sets of 25-ton blast doors and another for the civil engineering department. The doors were built so that they can always be opened when needed. Should a nuclear blast hit the building, they are designed to withstand a blast wave . There is a network of blast valves with unique filters to capture airborne chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear contaminants. Outside of
5293-603: The operation of NORAD, On 1 January 1966, Air Force Systems Command turned the COC over to NORAD. The NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex was accepted on 8 February 1966. United States Department of Defense realignments for the NORAD command organization began on 15 November 1968 (e.g., Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM)). By 1972, there were eight NORAD "regional areas ... for all air defense". The NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex Improvements Program (427M System) became operational in 1979. On at least three occasions, NORAD systems failed, such as on 9 November 1979, when
5372-438: The partially underground "Combined Operations Center" for Aerospace Defense Command and NORAD at the Chidlaw Building . President John F. Kennedy visited "NORAD headquarters" after the 5 June 1963 United States Air Force Academy graduation. On 30 October 1964, "NORAD began manning" the Combat Operations Center in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex . In 1965, about 250,000 United States and Canadian personnel were involved in
5451-451: The press that CONAD was tracking Santa Claus 's sleigh , adding that "CONAD, Army , Navy and Marine 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, known as the " NORAD Tracks Santa " program. Every year on Christmas Eve , "NORAD Tracks Santa" purports to track Santa Claus as he leaves
5530-505: The program was also to "replace display screens of the Attack Warning and Attack Assessment System." It was delayed from 1993 to 1996. Granite Sentry and other Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade interfaces were tested in 1997, and Granite Sentry's processing regarding "simulated [nuclear] detonation messages…injected into the Defense Support Program Data Distribution Center [was] not adequate...". The Combatant Commander's Integrated Command and Control System (CCIC2S) program began in 2000 with
5609-444: 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 the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and reserve forces provided by
5688-510: The various radar, satellite, and other missile attack detection systems, and those direct reports simply did not match the erroneous data received from NORAD. Following the 1979 Joint US-Canada Air Defense Study, the command structure for aerospace defense was changed, e.g., "SAC assumed control of ballistic missile warning and space surveillance facilities " on 1 December 1979 from ADCOM. The Aerospace Defense Command major command ended 31 March 1980. Its organizations in Cheyenne Mountain became
5767-527: Was deactivated. The Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker's planned mission was expanded in August 1960 to "a hardened center from which CINCNORAD would supervise and direct operations against space attack as well as air attack". In October 1960, the Secretary of Defense assigned, "operational command of all space surveillance to Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) and operational control to North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)". In December 1960,
5846-472: Was established on 12 September 1957 at Ent Air Force Base 's 1954 blockhouse. 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 the Strategic Air Command 's (SAC)'s retaliatory forces". In late 1958, Canada and
5925-660: Was excavated under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of the NORAD Combat Operations Center beginning on May 18, 1961, by Utah Construction & Mining Company . The Space Defense Center and the Combat Operations Center achieved full operational capability on February 6, 1967. The total cost was $ 142.4 million. Its systems included a command-and-control system developed by Burroughs Corporation . The electronics and communications system centralized and automated
6004-425: Was nicknamed " The Notch " (or formally as the 8th AF "Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley") and was hardened to protect it from the effects of a nearby nuclear blast and designed so that the senior military staff could facilitate further military operations. Four years later, construction at Cheyenne Mountain was started to create a similar protection for the NORAD command post. Cheyenne Mountain
6083-500: Was re-designated as the J36 branch within the NORAD and USNORTHCOM's Operations Directorates. Since 2002, the complex has been classed as Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and has been used in crew qualification training, while the former command function has been redesignated as the "NORAD and USNORTHCOM Alternate Command Center" since 2008 after all the original functions of the complex were removed to Peterson Air Force Base. The complex
6162-603: Was subject to delays and cost overruns. By 1992, the project was estimated to be delayed to 1995 and cost projected to increase from $ 142 million to $ 234 million. By 1992, the U.S. Space Command Space Surveillance Center (SSC) was the data analysis and tracking center for Baker-Nunn camera images and Cheyenne Mountain was connected to the AN/URC-117 Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) communication site in Pueblo, Colorado . By 1995,
6241-489: Was upgraded to the more robust UNIVAC 1100/42 . The 427M system, intended to modernize systems and improve performance, was initially "wholly ineffective" and resulted in several failures of the Worldwide Military Command and Control System (WWMCCS) system. In 1979 and 1980, there were a few instances when false missile warnings were generated by the Cheyenne Mountain complex systems. For instance,
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