The North American Aerospace Defence Command is a military organization established by Canada and the United States in 1958. It is responsible for North America's airspace control and protects Canadian and American airspace against possible aircraft, missile or space vehicle attack.
"The major driving feature behind Norad, at the very beginning, was to provide a means of defending against Soviet bombers carrying nuclear bombs," says Rob Huebert, a professor of strategic studies at the University of Calgary.
"We were developing into, perhaps, one of the most dangerous phases of the Cold War," says Huebert. "This was a period in time in which there was a real possibility of nuclear conflict, be it over Berlin or Cuba."
Today, Norad personnel watch over North America using ground-based radar, sensors and fighter jets, including Canadian CF-18s.
Norad headquarters is located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. The command and control centre is buried inside nearby Cheyenne Mountain to protect it from attack. There is also an alternate command post in Winnipeg.
Norad has National Guard aircraft on alert at 26 bases around the U.S., and four Canadian fighter squadrons stationed at CFB Cold Lake, Alta., and CFB Bagotville, Que.
Norad in a new world
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Washington and New York, Norad radar and air patrols keep a tense watch on the home front.
"The Americans have become convinced, both at the policy level and at the public level, that they will be damned if they will be caught unprepared for the next threat," says Huebert.
Over the years, Norad prepared for many different dangers, says Lt.-Gen. Ken Pennie, its deputy commander-in-chief. But Pennie says officials never contemplated a scenario like the one that unfolded on Sept.11, 2001.
"I don't think anyone really imagined that anyone would hijack a plane full of innocent people and use it as an offensive missile against buildings full of innocent people," says Pennie, who is Canada's most senior Norad official.
"I can understand why we weren't prepared to deal with that specific threat, but we are now."
The organization was criticized for being slow to get jets over Washington and New York when planes were hijacked on Sept. 11. The American 9/11 commission, which released its report in 2004, said air traffic controllers had to go through several layers of civil aviation bureaucracy before Norad was contacted and it scrambled fighter jets to intercept the hijacked planes.
Since the attacks, two top Norad air force generals have been given authority to shoot down commercial airliners that threaten American cities, without presidential consent, as previously required.
Prior to the Sept. 11 attacks there was a debate over whether Norad was still relevant. Some people in the U.S argued modern threats called for a new system of defence.
Huebert says that debate is now over.
"It is very likely that Norad not only was given a new lease on life for its existence following the attacks because of the creation of a threat, but second, and probably more lasting, that you will see Norad having a central role in the national missile defence system of the United States," he says.
Missile defence and Norad
In August 2004, Canada signed an amendment to the Norad agreement to allow the organization to share its information with U.S. commanders running that country's missile defence system.
Defence Minister Bill Graham said the agreement didn't mean Canada is joining the missile defence program. "We're a long way from making any such decision," he said.
But the decision to share information had to be made, said Graham, because the Americans were on the verge of building an airspace defence system that would have made Norad obsolete.
The amendment to share information preserves Canada's partnership with the U.S. through Norad, Graham said.
Earlier in the year, Ottawa negotiated with Washington over Canada's possible participation in a missile defence program. One of Canada's terms for joining the program was a key role for Norad in its implementation.
The House of Commons passed a motion in 2003 that would give Norad responsibility for the creation of "any system developed to defend North America against ballistic missiles."
Some Liberals voted against the motion because the word "any" left the door open for weapons in space. Prime Minister Paul Martin said Canada should be involved in missile defence to represent Canadian interests, but that he didn't support putting weapons in space.
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