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News Release
Five years after 9/11 - A CANR perspective
NORAD - September 9, 2006
WINNIPEG, MAN. – Gone are the days of battling world super powers and mutually assured destruction. Canadian Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, has stated several times that we no longer face “the bear”, but rather “a ball of snakes”. With the Cold War era written into history, the focus not only lies on intercontinental ballistic missiles, but on every object in the sky. The changes in perceived threats and the apparent rise in terrorism have led to a great deal of transformation among our militaries to maintain relevant, combat-capable forces. The North American Aerospace Defence is no exception to this paradigm shift.
For nearly 50 years, NORAD has defended the skies above North America against outside threats. As time passed and enemies became allies, the eyes in the skies remained vigilant. North America has seen its share of threats over the decades with wars, missile crises, and more. However, no single event has changed the mindset of a country, continent, or global community so much as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Operation Noble Eagle
Operation Noble Eagle is the name given to the military response following the attacks of 9/11. More importantly, it added another important dimension to NORAD. Rather than focusing primarily on threats originating from another country or continent, NORAD increased its watch on all objects affecting North American airspace – even those originating from within.
Since the creation of Operation Noble Eagle, NORAD has flown more than 42,000 mishap-free sorties over the U.S. and Canada in support of this operation. Since 11 September 2001, NORAD has scrambled or diverted aircraft more than 2,200 times in response to potential threats. NORAD maintains a robust air defence posture for North America, and employs a variety of assets to accomplish its mission. Fighters on alert, irregular air patrols, airborne early warning assets, improved radar coverage and connectivity, and a multi-layered air defence umbrella for specific areas are key components of this air defence posture.
“The Canadian NORAD Region is a key element to the security of our country”, said Major General Charles Bouchard, Commander of 1 Canadian Air Division/Canadian NORAD Region. “Canadians can rest assured that our personnel work diligently to deter, detect and defend against threats to our nation's safety or sovereignty”.
The Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) maintains CF-18 Hornet aircraft on standby, ready to respond to the call of duty at a moment's notice. CANR can strategically place these aircraft at various points in the country to ensure our ability to react quickly. This deployment action is designed to counter any potential North American air sovereignty violations.
An increased focus on North American aerospace required enhanced capabilities and better communication between all governments and organizations involved. As a result, there is a high level of cooperation and coordination between NORAD and its regions with the FAA and Nav Canada. Since 9/11 NORAD monitors the FAA's Domestic Event Network (DEN). The DEN is a 24/7 FAA sponsored telephonic call network that connects all of the FAA's major air traffic facilities in the U.S., concurrent with providing information to the Transport Canada Operations and NAV CANADA Command Centers. The purpose of the DEN is to share “real-time” information with the appropriate authorities that deal with emerging and potential air-related incident within the continental United States and Canada. As such, it is monitored by several government security agencies on both sides of the border. This is a significant improvement in interagency coordination since 9/11. It allows these agencies and organizations to continuously share information, and respond immediately and appropriately to any airborne threat by providing a “monitored” response vice a “requested” response to emerging air events.
NORAD Renewal
Another key development in NORAD is the recently renewed agreement between the two nations. Most significantly, this new agreement provided two major changes: an indefinite renewal and the addition of maritime warning to the agreement.
Recognizing the importance of NORAD to the defence of North America, Canada and the United States agreed to renew the NORAD Agreement. Both countries have seized this opportunity to enhance NORAD by renewing it indefinitely, although it is still subject to periodic reviews.
The maritime warning function was perhaps the most important change to this agreement. By establishing a maritime warning function, NORAD can assist in developing a more complete picture of the approaches to, and internal waterways of, North America; and will provide NORAD with an enhanced capacity to warn both governments about real or possible threats to the continent.
In the maritime warning function, NORAD will process all available data and advise Canada Command and US Northern Command on issues of concern. However, responding to maritime threats will remain the responsibility of these national commands. Nonetheless, this renewal is yet another example of the commitment of both Canada and the US to ensure that this bi-national command continues to evolve to address new and emerging threats.
Canada First
The Government of Canada has placed greater emphasis on the security and sovereignty of our nation. Renewing and enhancing NORAD supports the Government's “Canada First” commitment to protect Canadians and defend its interests. Through its participation in NORAD, Canada is better able to protect its sovereignty and participate in decisions pertaining to the defence of North America, particularly where Canadian interests are involved.
The world has changed significantly since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Since then, both Canada and the United States have had to take great strides to ensure the safety and security of their citizens.
NORAD, after being on watch for nearly fifty years, continues to adapt to the changing environment and will maintain its watch over North American aerospace. This bi-national cooperation will only add to the security and sovereignty of our neighbouring nations.
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Note to editors: For more information, please contact Captain Jennifer Faubert at (204) 833-2500 ext 6795.
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