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Military

NORAD detects, tracks, and identifies Russian aircraft entering Canada Air Defense Identification Zones

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Many people are surprised to learn that for seventy-five years and counting, Russian aircraft regularly enter Canada territory. For example, on September 11, 2022, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected, tracked and positively identified two Russian maritime patrol aircraft entering and operating within the Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ).

photo: DND

NORAD and USNORTHCOM are Canadian and the American bi-national military commands charged with three missions in the defense of North America: aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning.

The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American nor Canadian sovereign airspace.

Contrary to how you may feel about it, Russian activity in the North American ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) is not seen as a threat nor is the activity seen as provocative. NORAD tracks and positively identifies foreign military aircraft that enter the ADIZ, and routinely monitors foreign aircraft movements and as required, escorts them from the ADIZ.

THULE AIR BASE, Greenland —Thule’s ballistic missile early warning radar  

The radar is operated by the 12th Space Warning Squadron, a geographically-separated unit of the 21st Space Wing. This upgrade completes another step toward a fully-operational missile defense system for the United States and Canada and friends and allies. 

NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based radars, airborne radar and fighter aircraft to track and identify aircraft and inform appropriate actions. We remain ready to employ a number of response options in the defense of North America and Arctic sovereignty.

Canada’s North Warning System Radar Sites. image:cbc

Aside from Thule Air Base, Greenland, and other Alaskan air bases, defensive operations are also based out of Canadian Forces Station Alert, Nunavut; Whitehorse, Yukon; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; 17 Wing/Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg, Manitoba; 22 Wing North Bay, Ontario and 5 Wing Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The expanded Canadian Air Defence Identification Zone (CADIZ).

Another operation saw Canadian CF-18 fighters operating from northern airfields to intercept aircraft role-playing as threats. Fighter aircraft were supported by Royal Canadian Air Force and United States Air Force KC-135 air-to-air refuelers.

The monitoring and control of North American airspace remains a primary mission focus area for NORAD. The command maintains robust air defense capabilities to execute the airspace mission over the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada.

General Glen VanHerck

“Exercising in the Arctic allows us to demonstrate our resiliency and advance our operational capabilities that are critical for integrated deterrence and layered defense,” said General Glen VanHerck, NORAD/USNORTHCOM commander. “The men and women of NORAD, in Canada and the United States, remain steadfast in our sacred obligation of deterring threats, and if required, defending North America.”

For the Silo, Captain Alexandra Hejduk/ NORAD.

Military

NORAD & U.S. Northern Command Will Conduct Exercise VIGILANT SHIELD 23

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PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colorado – The North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command will conduct its annual homeland defense exercise, VIGILANT SHIELD 23, Apr. 11-19, 2023.  

Exercise VIGILANT SHIELD is a bi-national exercise between the United States and Canada designed to assess and enhance the readiness of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, its components and mission partners to defend North America from attack.

Personnel from across the United States and Canada will participate, including the commands’ Headquarters, the Alaskan, Canadian and Continental NORAD Regions, USNORTHCOM components (U.S. Army North, U.S. Air Force North, U.S. Navy North, U.S. Marine Forces North, and Special Operations Command North), and other subordinate units and mission partners.  

VIGILANT SHIELD 23 provides NORAD and USNORTHCOM opportunities to examine and refine strategies, evaluate processes and procedures, and demonstrate the ability to address threats in various environments and domains. It is primarily a Command Post Exercise using simulated forces and involves the commander, the staff, and communications within and between headquarters. While the overall exercise scenario is classified, it is designed to assess and enhance NORAD and USNORTHCOM’s ability to defend North America across all domains, which include air, land, maritime, space and cyber. 

NORAD is a bi-national command formed by a partnership between Canada and the United States. NORAD provides aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for North America. USNORTHCOM conducts homeland defense, civil support and security cooperation to defend and secure the U.S. and its interests. The two commands have complementary missions and are co-located together on Peterson SFB, Colorado.

An earlier example of a Canada-United States bi-national command exercise. A Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CP-140 long range patrol aircraft flies in formation with two U.S. Air Force F-16s and a RCAF CF-18 during North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Arctic air defense exercise, Amalgam Dart 21-02, March 22 and 23, 2021. The exercise will run from March 20-26 and range from the Beaufort Sea to Thule, Greenland and extend south down the Eastern Atlantic to the U.S. coast of Maine. Amalgam Dart 21-02 provides NORAD the opportunity to hone homeland defense skills as Canadian, U.S., and NATO forces operated together in the Arctic. A bi-national Canadian and American command, NORAD employs a network of space-based, aerial and ground-based sensors, air-to-air refueling tankers, and fighter aircraft, controlled by a sophisticated command and control network to deter, detect and defend against aerial threats that originate outside or within North American airspace. NATO E-3 Early Warning Aircraft, Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighter aircraft, CP-140 long-range patrol aircraft, CC-130 Search and Rescue and tactical airlift aircraft, CC-150T air refueler, and CH-149 Cormorant Search and Rescue helicopters; as well as U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft, KC-10 Extender refueler, KC-46 Pegasus, KC-135 Stratotanker, as well as C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft will participated in the exercise. (Photo credit:RCAF)