22 Wing provides surveillance, identification, control, and warning
for the aerospace defence of Canada and North America.
This surveillance and identification of all air traffic approaching North
America (some 200,000 flights per year) is accomplished using radar
information received via satellite from the North
Warning System across the Canadian Arctic, coastal radars on the
east and west coasts of Canada, and Airborne Warning and Control System
Aircraft.
All Aircraft penetrating this radar coverage are detected and identified
by the personnel of 21
Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron (AC&W Sqn), who
are always on guard--24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Unidentified Aircraft,
Aircraft in distress, or Aircraft suspected of conducting illegal activities
may be intercepted by CF-18
fighters.
Critical information on air sovereignty events is forwarded to the North
American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado,
where it is in turn passed on to the command authorities--the President
of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada--to decide on the
appropriate responses.
Due to this binational nature of the NORAD agreement, some 32 American
personnel belonging to the USAF's 722
Support Squadron work in the Canadian Sector Air Operations
(SAOC). Training of the personnel who perform the air sovereignty mission
is done by 51
AC&W (Operational Training) Squadron, an integral
unit of 22 Wing.
|
