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Norad's goals

Broadcast Date: March 22, 1959

The Cold War is on, and the world is divided between the United States and the U.S.S.R. — and their allies. Geographically, Canada sits precariously between the two antagonistic superpowers, both possessing terrifying nuclear arsenals. If the worst happens, Soviets bombers and missiles may one day scream over Canada. Norad, the North American Air Defence Command, is a joint Canada-U.S. radar and communications system built to counter this terrible threat. In this clip its goals are explained: deter the Soviets, detect an attack and defend a continent.

Norad's goals

• The motto of Norad is "Deter, detect, defend":
- deter any potential aggressor by ensuring a devastating counterattack
- detect incoming airborne threats with radar and satellite surveillance
- defend North America by coordinating jets and missiles to intercept attackers.

• Canada and the United States held discussions on joint defence throughout the 1940s. In 1951 the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended extending radar facilities and combining their control and warning systems into one network that could defend both countries.
• In September 1954 Norad's precursor, the Continental Air Defence Command, was established.

• The Norad agreement was announced on Aug. 1, 1957, and the organization was established on Sept. 12, 1957. The name originally stood for North American Air Defense Command. As fears turned towards satellites and missiles, the name was changed in 1981 to North American Aerospace Defense Command. The binational organization was headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo. A formal 10-year agreement was announced on May 12, 1958, and has been renewed approximately every five years since then.

• Norad's early days were full of confusion over how to handle the perceived Soviet threat. At first Norad was to focus on the dangers posed by bombs dropped by aircraft. But just after the Norad agreement was signed the Soviets announced they had successfully tested a multi-stage ballistic missile. Then on Oct. 4, 1957, they launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. The entire concept of tracking and intercepting bombers had become outdated.

• Canada was also in the middle of developing the Avro Arrow jet interceptor, designed to take out Soviet bombers in the far north. (See the CBC Archives topic The Avro Arrow: Canada's Broken Dream.) The program was cancelled on Feb. 20, 1959, a month before this television program. Another anti-aircraft weapon, the Bomarc missile favoured by the Americans, took its place.

Norad's goals

Medium: Television

Program: CBC Television News Special

Broadcast Date: March 22, 1959

Guest(s): Earl Partridge, Roy Slemon

Host: Charles Lynch

Duration: 3:47

Last updated:
July 14, 2009