Lance R. Blyth, command historian of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), joins School of War to discuss the evolution of North America’s air defense. How has NORAD adapted to shifting threats over the decades? Are today’s threats manageable? Are we in a new Cold War? And what can the command, with operations deep inside a Colorado mountain, teach us about defending the continent in an era of renewed great-power competition?

Times:

02:04 History of NORAD

07:02 Threats of the 1950s

13:50 Sensors, effectors, and connectors

15:15 Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE)

19:45 SABRE travel system

21:14 Aerospace missile warning systems

22:07 Cheyenne Mountain Complex

24:13 NORAD in films

27:56 False missile launches

31:31 Adapting to new threats

34:23 New joint surveillance system

35:19 Importance of Canada

36:21 September 11

40:21 Operation Noble Eagle

43:00 Today’s threats

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