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North American Aerospace Defense Command, 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 Northern America. Headquarters for NORAD and the NORAD/United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) center are located at Peterson Air 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 (CINCNORAD) are, respectively, a United States four-star general or equivalent and a Canadian three-star general or equivalent.
The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New Fighter Aircraft Project competition and awarded a production order; deliveries of the CF-18 to the Canadian Forces began in 1982. CF-18s have supported North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) air sovereignty patrols and participated in combat during the Gulf War in 1991, the Kosovo War in the late 1990s, and as part of the Canadian contribution to the international Libyan no-fly zone in 2011. CF-18s were also part of the Canadian contribution to the military intervention against ISIL, Operation Impact.
Canadian Forces Base North Bay, also CFB North Bay, is an air force base located at the City of North Bay, Ontario about 350 km (220 mi) north of Toronto. The base is subordinate to 1 Canadian Air Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is the centre for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) operations in Canada, under the Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters, also in Winnipeg. It is also home to the 1 Air Force, Detachment 2 of the United States Air Force.
The North Warning System (NWS) is a joint United States and Canadian early-warning radar system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It provides surveillance of airspace from potential incursions or attacks from across North America's polar region. It replaced the Distant Early Warning Line system in the late 1980s.
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The McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Forces between 1961 and 1984. They were manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri for the United States Air Force, and later sold to Canada. CF-101s replaced the obsolete Avro CF-100 Canuck in the RCAF's all-weather fighter squadrons. The Voodoo's primary armament was nuclear AIR-2A Genie unguided air-to-air rockets, and there was significant political controversy in Canada about their adoption. Although they never fired a weapon in wartime, the CF-101 served as Canada's primary means of air defence from Quick Reaction Alert facilities at Canadian airbases. The CF-101s were retired in the 1980s and replaced with McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet fighters. Many examples are preserved in museums and parks in Canada and the United States.
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409 Tactical Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron operates the CF-18 Hornet from CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada.
Canadian Forces Station Lowther is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 12.7 miles (20.4 km) east-southeast of Mattice-Val Côté, Ontario. It was closed in 1987.
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RCAF Station St. Margarets is a former Royal Canadian Air Force station and later a Canadian Forces detachment located in the community of St. Margarets, New Brunswick.
Canadian Forces Station Sioux Lookout is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 3.7 miles (6.0 km) west of Sioux Lookout, Ontario. It was closed in 1987.
Canadian Forces Station Beaverlodge is a closed General Surveillance Radar station. It is located 4.9 miles (7.9 km) east-northeast of Beaverlodge, Alberta. It was closed in 1988.
Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) Forward Operating Location (FOL) Yellowknife was upgraded as part of the North American Air Defence Modernization (NAADM) program authorized at the Shamrock Summit held in Quebec City on March 18, 1985. The NAADM program was authorized by the Canada-United States Memorandum of Understanding signed by Prime Minister Mulroney and Ronald Reagan at the summit. The purpose of the upgraded facilities at Yellowknife Airport was to accommodate up to six fighters in hangars when needed, 200 support personnel, and storage facilities. The facility was built and accepted by DND in 1994, without munitions storage facilities.
Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) Forward Operating Location (FOL) Rankin Inlet was upgraded as part of the North American Air Defence Modernization (NAADM) program authorized at the Shamrock Summit held in Quebec City on March 18, 1985. The NAADM program was authorized by the Canada-United States Memorandum of Understanding signed by Prime Minister Mulroney and President Reagan at the summit. The purpose of the upgraded facilities at Rankin Inlet Airport was to accommodate up to six fighters in hangars when needed, 200 support personnel, and storage facilities. The facility was built and accepted by DND in 1994, without munitions storage facilities.
Air Defence Command was a command of the Royal Canadian Air Force and later the Canadian Armed Forces, active from 1951 to 1975.
References
- ↑ DM Jurkowski (1997). A History of the Air Defence of Canada 1948-1997. The NBC Group. ISBN 0-9681973-0-2.
- ↑ Pigott, Peter (2011). "On guard for thee". Wings. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
The air force, in conjunction with NORAD, also maintains four Forward Operating Locations (FOLs) where it can pre-deploy CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft in response to, or anticipation of, unwelcome activity. The FOLs are located in Inuvik and Yellowknife, N.W.T., and in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. They provide all the necessary infrastructure and supplies to support the air force's fighter aircraft in these remote and isolated regions.