Norad

Given the massive imbalance in military power between the two countries, and the determination by the U. S. to defend its own soil at all costs, NORAD provides Canada with a means to have some control over its own territorial defence, neutralizing the threat that the U. S. will impose its own defence on Canada. [...] Under the NAADM, key elements were the replacement of the 1950s DEW Line (Distant Early Warning Line) with the new radars of the North Warning System (NWS) and the construction of several Forward Operating Locations to allow the deployment of USAF and CAF fighters northwards to counter cruise missiles and their carrier aircraft. [...] This led the U. S. to establish Northern Command (NorthCom) in October 2002 for the defence of the U. S.2 Like other U. S. geographic combatant commands, NorthCom conducts defence relations with allies, partners and other nations in the assigned region, in this case Canada and Mexico.3 The four-star U. S. general who commands NorthCom is “double-hatted” as the commander of NORAD. [...] The chain of command runs from the president through the secretary of defence to the COCOM. [...] NORAD, as an operational command, must focus mostly on the capabilities available to a potential adversary and the doctrine governing their use, while relying on a wide-aperture view of the adversary and the current geostrategic situation to provide indications and warnings of hostilities and intimidation actions.