March 2020 - North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
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Biographies - NORAD Leadership
General O’Shaughnessy, Commander NORAD & US Northern Command
- Pilot with Squadron, Group, Wing & Combatant Command experience
- Operational and strategic policy experience
Lieutenant-General Coates, NORAD Deputy Commander
- Pilot with Squadron, Group, & Wing Command experience
- Domestic and expeditionary command experience


Mandate
- Deter, detect and defeat air threats to Canada and the United States
- NORAD is a bi-national command that provides:
- Aerospace control through surveillance and exercising operational control of airspace over Canada and the United States
- Aerospace warning of attack by aircraft, missiles or space vehicles
- Maritime warning
- Air defence operations including:
- Coordinating with Canadian, US, and International partners
- Coordinating cyber and info ops
- Developing recommendations on future requirements
Key facts
Total Employees:
- 4,842 (Canada 1,091, USA 3,751)
Budget:
- Unique bi-national combatant command leveraging Canadian and US Services as a Force Employer
Primary location(s):
- NORAD Headquarters: Colorado Springs, CO
- 3 Regions:
- Canadian - Winnipeg, MB;
- Continental US - Panama City, FL;
- Alaskan - Anchorage, AK
- 4 Air Defence Sectors:
- North Bay, ON;
- Anchorage, AK;
- Rome, NY;
- Tacoma, WA;
- 17 Fighter Alert Locations including Bagotville, QC and Cold Lake, AB
- 3 Forward Operating Locations:
- Yellowknife, NT;
- Inuvik, NT; and
- Iqaluit, NU
Key Partners
Internal:
- Canada:
- Strategic Joint Staff
- Vice Chief of Defence Staff
- Canadian Joint Operations Command
- Royal Canadian Air Force
- United States:
- Department of Defense
- Joint Staff
- US Northern Command
- US Air Force
External:
- Canada:
- Public Safety Canada
- Transport Canada
- United States:
- Department of Homeland Security
- Federal Aviation Administration
Top issues for North American Aerospace Defense Command
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Initiatives with NORAD Nexus
- Future Fighter
- Air-to-air Refueling
- Upgrade to North Warning System
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NORAD Modernizaton will be informed by new Science & Technology, Northern Approaches Surveillance Analysis of Alternatives and All Domain Situational Awareness studies.
Whole of Government
- Homeland defence of Canada and the US is the number one, no-fail, non-discretionary mission assigned to our military forces
- Threats are varied and can occur in any environment (air, land, sea etc.)
- [REDACTED]
Deterrence
- NORAD’s raison d’être is to deter aggression
- [REDACTED]
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