NORAD Archives

U.S. Army Maj. Steven McPherson, a joint doctrine team chief with the National Guard Bureau, looks at the interface of the Maven Smart System in Arlington, Virginia Feb. 20. McPherson was in a class to learn the MSS and its capability to process vast amounts of data from weather to troop locations. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Whitney Hughes)

DOD components face ‘aggressive’ timeline for Maven Smart System transition

A March 9 memo sets an ambitious deadline for the Pentagon to make MSS a formal program of record by the end of this fiscal year.

4 days ago By Brandi Vincent

A B-52 Stratofortress from the 5th Bomb Wing taxis at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., Oct. 26. 2025. The U.S. Northern Command Counter-small Unmanned Aerial System fly-away kit, seen in the foreground, and operators were rapidly deployed to the North Dakota base as part of an exercise to demonstrate the command’s ability to quickly support installation commander experiencing a drone incursion. (Department of Defense photo by John Ingle)

U.S. Northern Command says it thwarted a drone threat over a ‘strategic’ installation hours into the Iran war

Flyaway kits are emerging as a viable rapid-response option to defend domestic military installations against contemporary drone incursions.

Mar 19, 2026 By Brandi Vincent

Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command hosted distinguished visitors at Falcon Peak on Fort Carson, Colorado, Oct. 30, 2024. Falcon Peak is a USNORTHCOM led counter-small unmanned aircraft system experiment. (U.S. Department of Defense photos by Josh Armstrong)

NORAD commander says hundreds of drone incursions were detected at US military installations

Gen. Gregory Guillot revealed more details at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about widespread, recent incidents that highlight the problem.

Feb 13, 2025 By Jon Harper

Under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), two F-15s assigned to the Massachusetts Air National Guard and two CF-18 assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force fly in formation behind a KC-135 assigned to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard during air-defense Operation NOBLE DEFENDER, Oct. 27, 2022. (U.S. Air National Guard Photos by Tech. Sgt. Bryan Hoover)

Air Force deploys cloud-based C2 capability to all NORAD air defense sectors

The Air Force is now looking to scale the CBC2 capability from a tactical level up to an operational level.

Sep 18, 2024 By Mikayla Easley

U.S. Northern Command Commander U.S. Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck speaks during a press briefing about the completed global information dominance experiment (GIDE) 3, at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., July 28, 2021. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Brittany A. Chase)

Northcom chief sounds alarm over ‘unknowns’ in cyber domain

“Candidly, I worry a lot about the cyber domain and the unknowns in the cyber domain," Gen. Glen VanHerck said.

Nov 15, 2023 By Mikayla Easley

Special operators conduct training in austere conditions at Pituffik Space Base, Greenland, on May 9, 2023, in support of exercise ARCTIC EDGE 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Andrew Adams)

Arctic strategy implementation plan calls for enhanced military comms, sensing and PNT

The White House's new implementation plan is a follow-up to the administration's 2022 Arctic strategy.

Oct 23, 2023 By Mikayla Easley

NORAD’s VanHerck wants better data sharing, sensor architectures for homeland defense

Homeland defense will look “vastly different” in the future, according to the commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Jun 23, 2023 By Mikayla Easley

A woman walks under a sign of big data analytics US software company Palantir at their stand ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on May 22, 2022. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

Palantir racks up more than $100M in new Air Force contract awards to provide data-as-a-service

The work under the three contracts will support a variety of organizations across the Air and Space Forces.

Jun 16, 2023 By Jon Harper

RED SEA (May 11, 2012) Capt. Grady Banister, commanding officer of the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), prepares to release a weather balloon used for retrieving upper air soundings off the fantail of the ship. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Natasha R. Chalk/Released)

DOD takes steps to ensure its weather balloons aren’t misidentified

The launches are continuing in the wake of several recent shoot downs of unidentified “objects” flying over North America, by U.S. fighter jets launching AIM-9X air-to-air missiles.

Feb 17, 2023 By Jon Harper

An F- 22 Raptor takes flight as part of Polar Force 19-4 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, April 2, 2019. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jonathan Valdes Montijo)

F-22 fighter jet shoots down mysterious ‘object’ off the coast of Alaska; another downed over Canada

The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a potential threat to the safety of civilian air traffic, U.S. officials said.

Feb 10, 2023 By Brandi Vincent Jon Harper