The North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), which was created in 1957 as a result of bilateral agreements signed by the governments of the United States and Canada, is responsible for the air defense of the North American continent.
NORAD includes the Aerospace Defense Command, to which the forces and assets of the American air defense, as well as the forces and assets of the Canadian Air Defense Group of the Air Force, are subordinate.
The command headquarters is based at Peterson Air Base, and the permanent command post is located in a fortified bunker that is built inside Cheyenne Mountain.
The Joint Command includes the USAF Air Defense Command, Canadian Air Command, Naval Forces CONAD / NORAD, and Army Air Defense Command. …
The air defense structure consists of ground surveillance systems: sensors and radars located on the territory of both countries, air warning systems and fighter aircraft: American AWACS E-3 AWACS aircraft and Canadian CF-18 fighter-bombers and American F-15, 16 and 22 fighters …
The airspace control and reconnaissance system consists of a network of dual-subordination radar posts of the air defense-ATC systems of the continental USA and the Canadian air defense region, radar posts of the Northern Warning System (NWS) line, balloon radar posts, over-the-horizon radars of the 414L system, regional operational control centers (ROCC - Regional Operations Control Center) and AWACS aircraft.
Satellite image of Google Earth: stationary airspace control radars (blue diamonds) and air defense missile systems (red squares) in the United States
It is worth noting that after the American authorities realized the threat posed by a large number of Soviet ICBMs, it was decided to abandon the powerful air defense system, including a large number of air defense systems deployed in the country. According to former US Secretary of Defense Schlesinger, if they cannot protect their cities from strategic missiles, then you should not even try to create protection from the small bomber aircraft of the USSR.
In the 1980s, the process of a sharp reduction in air defense forces began - all anti-aircraft artillery systems, as well as most of the air defense systems, were removed from service. The number of aviation regiments on duty was also reduced.
As a result of a number of radical reductions, by the fall of 2001, only air fighter groups of the American National Guard and the Canadian Air Force remained in the air defense of the North American continent. Until September 11, no more than six interceptors carried no more than six interceptors on a 15-minute combat alert throughout the continent.
However, in recent years, the intensity of flights has increased significantly. At the moment, the NORAD system monitors up to seven thousand aerial objects every day. More than ten aircraft can be simultaneously over the territory of the United States. About 80 thousand take-offs and landings of aircraft performing domestic flights are recorded at the airports per day.
Black Tuesday put the NORAD system in a situation that was not only not envisaged in combat algorithms and sequences of actions, but was never played out in the process of headquarters training of duty aviation and radar units.
The events of September 11, 2001 showed that the entire system designed to prevent invasions from outside failed to cope with the emerging terrorist threat. Therefore, it was subjected to serious reform.
At the moment, the NORAD system is engaged in radar and aviation control of the air situation over the continental United States and Canada. For this, additional stationary and mobile radars were used, fighters and AWACS aircraft were constantly in the air, and the number of interceptors on duty at air bases was tripled.
Satellite image of Google Earth: E-3V AWACS aircraft at Tinker airbase
It also provides for the use of a system consisting of balloon radar posts. It is worth noting that it is especially effective in the southern part of the country, where it works in conjunction with the US Border Patrol, tracking low-altitude light aircraft, which are often used to transport drugs across the border with Mexico.
Satellite image of Google Earth: balloon of a radar observation system in the area of the US-Mexican border
In the continental United States, in peacetime, 75% of all RLPs are shared by the Air Force and the Federal Civil Aviation Agency. Ground posts use modern detection radars, including ARSR-4, as well as altitude detection radars - AN / FPS-116, using digital processing and data transmission.
Satellite image of Google Earth: JSS radar system in the Long Beach area
Also, a new procedure was introduced for deciding on an attack on aircraft hijacked by terrorists. At the moment, not only the American president is responsible for this: in emergency situations, the decision can be made by the commander of the continental area of the air defense zone.
The reorganization also affected the process of combat duty of fighters over major urban centers. Thirty air bases now participate in it (up from seven before September 11). Eight squadrons are on duty, including 130 interceptors and 8 AWACS aircraft. The airspace over the capital of the United States is guarded by the 113th Air Force Wing of the National Guard, which is stationed at an air base in Maryland. At the beginning of 2006, the 27th squadron, armed with 5-generation F-22 "Raptor" aircraft, joined the combat duty.
Satellite image of Google Earth: F-15C and F-22 fighters at Langle airbase and
The system of constant alert includes 127 radar posts, which serve 11 thousand servicemen. More than half of them are National Guardsmen. However, they still cannot provide an absolute radar field over the territory of the North American continent.
According to representatives of the US military command, the current airspace control system makes it possible to monitor all movements of large aircraft, reacting to any route change, especially when approaching restricted areas. It is worth noting that there are hundreds of such deviations.
More than 4.5 million small private airfields operate on the territory of the United States, which are practically not controlled by federal authorities. According to various sources, they are used by 26 to 30 thousand different flying aircraft, including jet ones. Naturally, these are not huge liners, but they can also cause serious damage if they fall into the wrong hands.
All important and potentially dangerous objects can be covered with anti-aircraft missile systems of air defense in the event of a terrorist threat.
The National Guard and the regular army include 21 anti-aircraft missile divisions. Their armament includes about 700 "Avenger" air defense missile systems, about 480 "Patriot" air defense missile systems, as well as 1 NASAMS air defense system.
After September 11, 2001, 12 installations of the Avenger air defense system appeared in the area of the Congress and the White House.
This is a low-altitude air defense missile system as part of a gyro-stabilized platform mounted on a Hammer vehicle, with a Stinger air defense missile system in a TPK - two packages of four each. The complex is equipped with optical and thermal imaging devices for detecting and tracking targets, a laser rangefinder, an identification device from the Stinger MANPADS and communication facilities. The maximum range is 5.5 kilometers. The height of the lesion is 3.8 kilometers.
Satellite image of Google Earth: the position of the American air defense system "Patriot" in the UAE
It is worth noting that although there are sites for the deployment of Patriot air defense systems in the United States, these complexes are used only outside the country.
About half of all Patriot complexes are deployed in Europe, South Korea and the Middle East.
In the United States, almost all Patriots are in storage or deployment locations: Fort Sill, Fort Bliss, Fort Hood, Redstone Arsenal. They are not used for combat duty on a permanent basis in the country.
Washington is protected by three launchers of the Norwegian-American NASAMS air defense systems, which are arranged in the shape of a triangle.
Satellite image of Google Earth: deployed launchers of SAM NASAMS (red triangles)
This anti-aircraft complex uses AIM-120 AMRAAM aircraft missiles. From 1989 to 1993, it was developed by the American Raytheon and the Norwegian Norsk Forsvarteknologia. The complex was created to replace the Improved Hawk air defense system. The main purpose is to counter maneuvering aerodynamic targets at medium altitudes. Its range is 2.5-40 kilometers, and the height of the defeat is 0.03-16 kilometers, which makes it possible to shoot down an intruder even before he approaches the White House.
It is quite obvious that by relying on interceptor fighters, it is impossible to guarantee absolute protection against air threats for important targets. Therefore, in the United States, they are working on the revival of the object air defense and the creation of a continuous radar field. However, this requires large material investments.
